Conditions picked up by hospital patients estimated to cost health system €91m a year

The majority of patients were admitted as emergency cases and over a third in the sample were classified as having health issues of major complexity, although more than half had minor issues. File photo: PA

Avoidable illnesses affecting people after they enter hospitals could be costing the health system €91.3m a year, according to the first such study of its kind in Ireland.

Researchers used data sourced from 5,544 patient discharge records from six acute wards within three hospitals across a 16-month period. They found that 16% of the sample had at least one nurse-sensitive adverse event during their episode of care.