Patients 'could be dying' due to risk-averse surgeons

摘要

Heart surgery patients may be dying because surgeons are too worried about their mortality ratings to operate on critically ill people, according to a major study. Nine in 10 heart surgeons say that publishing data on individual surgeons has led to a 'blame culture' where the sickest patients can be denied treatment for fear it will lead to an investigation if they die in theatre.