Speaking at a meeting of the Clinical Leadership Summit on blood clots (venous thromboembolism), the health minister Lord Howe spoke of the need to prevent needless death and disability for patients in the NHS.

Every year, an estimated 25,000 people in England die from these clots in hospital. The blood clots form in the veins deep in the leg, usually in the calf  and the majority of deaths in hospital are caused by part of the clot breaking off, travelling around the body and eventually lodging in the lungs, where it can cause a pulmonary embolism. The condition is largely preventable – requiring a simple risk assessment to be carried out by NHS staff followed by appropriate prevention in line with NICE guidance. More …………