Ear Syringes
Complications associated with ear syringing are the largest cause of medical negligence claims and complaints against GPs and their staff in primary care, with 38% of GPs in a survey reporting complications with the procedure.
Monitoring the underlying causes of these complaints unearths a fairly even split between human error and equipment problems:
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43% of claims were attributed to poor technique with a further 5% due to the healthcare professional failing to examine the ear thoroughly for existing problems before syringing
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On the equipment side, 26% of claims were due to the unit applying excessive pressure, another 26% were due to other equipment related faults
Human error is a straightforward matter to address. Compile a list of all staff that carry out syringing, arrange patient visits so that all carry out syringing in the next month and ensure they are observed by an experienced and competent member of staff.
If you feel following this exercise that there are training issues help can be sourced from your local hospital.
Regarding equipment faults, despite MHRA guidelines and manufacturer recommendations to have the equipment tested and calibrated each year, JPen Medical (market lead in on-site testing and calibration) report that only half of surgeries it visits have this essential test carried out.
“We are living in an increasingly litigious world” comments Peter Averill, General Manager of JPen, “and insurance companies are becoming wise to guidelines and the availability of audit trails. Already we are seeing examples of insurers refusing to pay out awards or insisting on increased testing frequencies due to product failure. This will only increase.”
“Our advice is straightforward; the next time you have an engineer coming to test your equipment within the surgery, simply add your ear syringe to the list, for just a few pounds it will ensure that you uphold the good name of the surgery, and could save you thousands in the long term”