ABSTRACT
Problems in performance within a healthcare setting have profound effects on patients and also on individual healthcare professionals and the systems in which they work. It has been estimated that over one-third of doctors who are the subject of a clinical negligence claim suffer from clinical depression as a result of the process. 1 The National Audit Office has estimated that £2 billion is wasted on unnecessary bed stays through errors, with a further £1 billion cost as a result of hospital acquired infections. 2 Similar findings in the United States of America estimate that more people die from medical errors than from road traffic accidents, breast cancer or AIDS taken together. 3
