NSW hospitals 'worst for mishaps'

The NSW government is failing to improve health services, despite a new report highlighting a number of serious mishaps in the state's hospitals, opposition leader Barry O'Farrell says.

A Productivity Commission report on government services shows 59 cases of "sentinel events" - or incidents occurring due to hospital system failures - in NSW in 2007-08.

It ranked NSW as the worst performer, with 18 incidents involving the wrong patient or body parts, 19 cases of medical instruments being left in bodies after surgery and medication errors resulting in 17 deaths.

Victoria was the next worst performer with 28 such incidents recorded in public hospitals and 147 nationwide.

NSW Health Minister Carmel Tebbutt welcomed the report and said the figures would be used to improve patient care.

"Any sentinel event is to be regretted and we hope to discourage this," she told reporters on Friday.

"But we don't want to discourage their reporting because that's what drives changes."

But Mr O'Farrell accused her of spin and failing to act.

"These figures are a damning indictment that the state government has access to figures like this but refuses to do anything about it," he said.

Cliff Hughes, CEO of the Clinical Excellence Commission, formed in 2004 to improve health services, says it's important medical staff continue to report sentinel events.

"We're constantly aware of the need to be open and transparent in the way our system is performing," he told reporters.

He said medical staff were constantly encouraged to report adverse events, no matter how minor and said sentinel events were "extremely rare".

Shadow health minister Jillian Skinner accused the government of under-investment in technology that could help reduce sentinel events.

She said barcode technology used elsewhere in the world to prevent medical instruments being left inside people should be used in NSW.

"I've seen it in operation and it is extremely effective and it's not terribly expensive," she said.

"We should have no avoidable deaths in our hospitals."