Ryan Ginstrom wrote:

> "Eric Takabayashi" <etakajp@yahoo.co.jp> wrote in message
> news:3F71CFEC.BEE416A0@yahoo.co.jp...
> > I'll take the risk I'll die during treatment or lack of it, because my
> > condition is so serious, such as having cancer or being brought in after a
> > traffic accident, NOT because the medical staff screwed up by operating on
> the
> > wrong (healthy) side of the body, operated on the wrong patients with
> similar
> > names or in the same ward, transplanted the wrong organs, left instruments
> in,
> > hooked up the heart lung machine backwards, put toxic material into the
> IV,
> > etc.
>
> The doctor explained to me the safety precautions that they take with the
> needles. Periodically during the surgery, they count all the needles to
> ensure that they are accounted for. Then after the surgery, before the
> patient is closed up, they count the needles one more time.

I have heard of such instrument counts during open surgeries, but as can be
seen in Japan and elsewhere, they still lose things large and small, even large
clamps or scissors.

> In this case, they noticed that one of the needles was missing during one of
> their periodic counts. As the surgery progressed, they were also looking for
> the missing needle, but failed to find it. After 3 hours with Bill's heart
> stopped, they could not spend any more time looking for the needle, so they
> sewed him back up and prayed for the best.

I am sure they were not malicious or deliberately negligent, but that later
attitude is quite something.

> Now, the question that immediately came to my mind was, why don't they keep
> track of every needle, instead of just counting them periodically? Nurses
> are cheap in Japan, so if manpower is an issue they could just bring in an
> extra nurse whose only job is to keep track of needles.

Now this I can sympathize with. No, Japan does not have enough nurses. I know
women who want to become nurses and those are currently studying to become
nurses. Their misgivings over workload, and hospital staffing policies create a
vicious circle. As long as nurses are kept so busy and work is so stressful
(responsibility over twice the number of beds that U.S. nurses have, and the
U.S. has a need as well), there are not going to be enough people who are
willing to become nurses to relieve that workload. And Japanese nurses'
salaries are not like nurses' salaries in the US, where they can get more than
public school teachers, and compare favorably with what physicians make.

> Perhaps there is a good answer for why each and every needle is not tracked.
> An answer that would satisfy Bill. The problem is, if there is such an
> answer, the doctors aren't telling. And the system is stacked against anyone
> who would want to get such an answer.

I am very surprised that this hospital is one that will allow others to review
its records or suggest a second opinion.