[Tommy]

DV,

One of my sons was born with cystic fibrosis, a genetic condition that was not inherently fatal, but made him susceptible to bacterial lung infections. By the time he was 13, he was hospitalized frequently to receive IV medications and other therapies. He spent more than 600 days in hospital so I had a prolonged opportunity to see many doctors and nurses at work.

One major challenge faced by every hospital is protecting patients and staff from drug resistant bacterial infections. The very nature of what is done at hospitals make them likely places for such bacteria. And as many patients are already weakened in some way, it is very important that staff practice good hygiene and sanitation to prevent it from spreading.

I can't count the number of times my son's mother or I had to remind staff to wash their hands before entering my son's room. I don't know if anyone reminded them before going to the next patient.

The problem is not that staff don't know the correct procedures, they just get busy and either forget or deliberately take shortcuts. Administrators could solve the problem, but it would be costly (e.g., more staff or firing bad personnel), and their bottom line is profitability more than 100% patient safety.

My son contracted an entirely preventable drug resistant bacteria called MRSA and subsequently died at age 15. He was awaiting a lung transplant.

My point is that US medical personnel are not lacking in training or equipment. But they are human and in the absence of determined and conscientious leaders they sometimes lack the self discipline to do everything they should to protect themselves and their patients. Various sources estimate between 100,000 and 400,000 patients die each year as a result of mistakes made at hospitals. I don't find it surprising that staff sometimes mistakenly kill themselves as well.