Italy examining hospital deaths

Italy's health ministry says the figures seem exaggerated

Italy is investigating allegations that as many as 90 people a day die in the country's hospitals due to medical malpractice and organisational errors.

The Senate Health Commission has asked for details of the disputed research, prepared for the Italian Association of Oncological Medicine (AIOM).

AIOM estimates about 33,000 people die each year, far higher than the number of people killed on the roads.

But the health ministry said the numbers seemed "exaggerated".

"We are putting a dossier together for the Senate's Health Commission which has asked for a copy," AIOM spokesman Mauro Boldrini told the BBC news website.

Medicine is not an exact science - some errors are inevitable, but others are avoidable. Mauro Boldrini AIOM spokesman

The AIOM estimates that half of the daily deaths in hospitals are preventable.

"We are convinced that there is a serious problem here that no-one has properly studied. If no-one talks about it, then it won't be addressed," he said.

'Unrealistic'

Italy's Health Minister, Livia Turco, has said that even one preventable death in hospital is one death too many.

According to the data, almost a third of the errors were made in operating theatres (32%), followed by on wards (28%), in casualty departments (22%) and in out-patient clinics (18%).

Under-Secretary for Health Serafino Zucchelli told the BBC News website that the numbers were too high to be realistic.

"I worked in hospitals for 40 years and I am fully aware of what happens there. But these figures seem somewhat exaggerated, 90 people a day is simply an extraordinary figure for Italy," he said.

He said the Health Ministry already had a series of measures in place - including a commission for clinical excellence and a national centre for patient safety to address the issue of medical errors and organisational problems in the health service.

"Errors do occur in medicine - that is unquestionable," Mr Zucchelli said.

"But there is also no question that the complexity of our diagnostic techniques and our whole organisational structure has significantly improved," he added.