A baby died after an untrained doctor took a 50-50 gamble on pressing the right button. (Note: it's disputed as to whether the mistake contributed to the death of the baby; that's what the inquest is trying to establish.)
Why did he have to choose between an orange button and a blue button? Why were they not labelled?
Posted by gerv at March 21, 2006 10:53 AM"The baby's mother, Lisa Weale, 35, from Longbridge, Birmingham, said that after the bypass incident she was told that the duty doctor was not qualified to monitor the machine. She was further told that the hospital did not have the resources to ensure there was always somebody on duty who was."
Ah, government health care at its finest.
Posted by: thatcher at March 21, 2006 1:55 PMSpeaking personally, Gerv, they more than likely robbed some poor technical author by paying her half of what she was worth, causing her to be demotivated enough to cut corners in the relevant documentation.
/flippant
Posted by: angel at March 21, 2006 2:00 PMI'm curious how that machine got in a hospital....
don't they need certification to be used for healthcare purposes? IIRC, they need to be clear in operation and the manufacturer must dictate if special training is recommended.
Posted by: Robert Accettura at March 21, 2006 3:27 PMI'm curious how that machine got in a hospital.... don't they need certification to be used for healthcare purposes?
I suppose that depends on jurisdiction, but, at least around here, whatever certification is needed apparently has nothing whatever to do with clarity or usability of interface. I've heard my mom (an OB nurse) describe the various health-care machines they use on her floor, and the picture she paints doesn't exactly conjure up images of thorough usability testing. The medical software that they use for charting and ordering medications and whatnot is even worse.
Posted by: Jonadab the Unsightly One at March 22, 2006 12:19 AM