An independent committee that advises the Health Quality & Safety Commission on how to reduce post-operation deaths has made its first report.
The Perioperative Mortality Review Committee (POMRC) report is the first of its kind in New Zealand, and provides an overview of post-operation deaths in New Zealand.
Between 4000 and 5000 patients die following any form of surgical procedure and anaesthesia each year in New Zealand. The country’s mortality rates for specific procedures are similar to international mortality rates.
The report analysed data on patients who died within 30 days of the operation, or after 30 days but before discharge from hospital.
Outgoing POMRC chair Professor Iain Martin says that in many cases the operation itself played no part in the patient’s death.
However, he says “in a small number of cases there are lessons to be learned”, and the report is a starting point for the development of a national perioperative mortality review system.
The report’s main conclusion was a recommendation that more data be collected and analysed to allow a review process that encompasses the whole heathcare system.
The committee’s work in the future will drive the development of this process.
The Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA) welcomed the report, saying it highlights the areas where additional care needs to be taken.
Chair of ANZCA’s New Zealand National Committee Dr Geoff Long says the “very valuable” report “will contribute directly to better outcomes for our patients”.
“While the report identifies risk factors, at the same time it is reassuring for patients in that its findings also demonstrate that New Zealand has a very high safety record, comparable with other similar countries,” he says.
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