Hospital Acquired Venous Thromboembolism

That the Parliament understands that venous thromboembolism (VTE), a condition in which a blood clot forms in the deep veins of the leg, groin or arm, is a problem affecting a rising number of people in Scotland, including in the South Scotland region; further understands that nearly 14,000 people have died as a result of VTE and that the number has continued to increase by a third in the last decade; acknowledges that patients with one case of VTE are highly susceptible to developing another one, with them being particularly at risk for the first six to 12 months after the first event; understands that 30% of people who have recovered will develop another life-threatening clot within eight years after their first; further understands that VTE is the number one cause of preventable death in Scottish hospitals and, in most cases, is acquired during hospital stays; notes that, in light of this, the Welsh Government has been working with NHS clinicians and 1000 Lives Improvement to collect and analyse data on hospital-acquired cases of VTE; understands that this has seen the number of deaths from hospital-acquired VTE decline; believes that the Scottish Government does not currently collect or analyse information and data on cases of hospital-acquired VTE, and acknowledges that Thrombosis UK has urged the Scottish Government to consider the implementation of a similar programme of data collection and analysis to tackle this issue in Scotland.