A new report on sentinel events in Victorian hospitals show that a small number of patients were seriously harmed by a “fixation” on COVID-19 symptoms. 

System issues resulting from the pandemic were judged a contributing factor to 22 of the 168 sentinel events reported in 2020-21, according to Safer Care Victoria. 

“The impacts of the pandemic on health services were rapid, multifactorial and widely experienced,” it added.

“An overall lack of resources (including staff), as well as reduced patient accessibility to services and treatment, were cited, as were delays in recognising and managing patient deterioration.