National Assembly Committee to examine the prevention of hospital-acquired Venous Thromboembolism in new inquiry
13 March 2012
The National Assembly for Wales’s Health and Social Care Committee is consulting on a new inquiry into the prevention of hospital-acquired Venous Thromboembolisms (VTE).
VTEs cover both deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolisms (PE) both of which cause blood clots to block arteries around the human body and account for between 25, 000 and 32, 000 deaths in the UK every year.
The Committee will take evidence during a day-long session that will also examine the implementation of the National Institute of Clinical Excellence’s guidance and the adequacy of the 1000 Lives Plus risk assessment tool which is used across Wales to reduce the risk of patients developing blood clots.
“Venous thromboembolism is a serious but ultimately preventable condition in a hospital environment,” said Mark Drakeford AM, Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee.
“This inquiry will examine to what extent nationally-established guidelines are followed in our hospitals and whether there is anything further to be done to bring the number of these incidents down.
“We are specifically focusing this inquiry on the prevention of hospital-acquired VTE and would like to the views of health board and hospital executives, doctors and medical staff and also patients and families who have been affected by this condition.”
Anyone wishing to submit evidence as part of the consultation for the inquiry can email HSCCommittee@wales.gov.uk or write to: Clerk to the Health and Social Care Committee, National Assembly for Wales, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff, CF99 1NA.