Just over half of people in Ireland feel that hospitals are dangerous places.

According to an Eurobarometer survey on patient safety, 54% of those questioned felt it was likely they could be harmed by the care they receive in them.

That is close to the European average of 53%, but the report showed significant variations from 82% in Cyprus to 21% in Austria.

Adverse events

A quarter reported they or a family member had experienced an 'adverse event' like something going wrong with their care while in hospital, slightly below the European average of 27%. Those living in northern and western areas of the EU were more likely to say this.

Of those who experienced an adverse event, 46% reported it, as compared with only 28% in 2009, pointing to a marked increase in patient empowerment.

The rise was even more significant in specific countries, up 61% in France, 40% in Spain and 32% in Luxembourg.

Despite this, in 37% of the cases that the adverse event was reported ‘nothing happened’. However, one in five received an apology from the doctor or nurse, while 17% were given an explanation for the error by the healthcare facility.

Our priorities

Some of the priorities for Irish people when measuring the quality of healthcare include short waiting lists, cleanliness and their proximity to a hospital or a doctor.

Despite the concerns however, 62% still feel Ireland has 'good' quality healthcare - an increase of 9% on similar research from 2009.

Tonio Borg, European Commissioner for Health, said, "When our citizens go to a hospital, they expect safe healthcare. The good news is that most Member States now have patient safety programmes in place. The bad news is that, despite such progress, there are still adverse events in healthcare settings and patient safety is seldom part of healthcare workers' training."

The survey was carried out between November and December 2013 in all 28 EU countries.