October 26th, 2009
A 14-year-old boy has been awarded compensation for clinical negligence after a hospital admitted that its failings caused his cerebral palsy.
The unnamed victim was born prematurely at Billinge Hospital, but staff failed to properly administer ventilation, the Manchester Evening News reports.
He is now wheelchair-bound and will need round-the-clock care for the rest of his life.
The child’s parents took legal action against Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust and – after an 11-year legal battle – have now been awarded compensation that will allow them to specially adapt their home for their disabled son.
"The trust very much hopes that the compensation monies will provide life-long security and enable the individual to fulfil their potential," a spokesperson for the hospital said.
According to figures published by Scope, approximately one in 400 babies in the UK is born with cerebral palsy every year. This may be caused by a blocked blood vessel, complications in labour, extreme prematurity or illness just after birth.
Tags: 5 Million, Babies, Blood Vessel, Cerebral Palsy, Clinical Negligence, Clock Care, Extreme Prematurity, Foundation Trust, Labour, Manchester Evening News, Monies, News Reports, Nhs, Parents, Scope, Spokesperson, Ventilation, Wheelchair, Wigan
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June 12th, 2009
A mother whose son suffered complications after he was circumcised at a private clinic is planning to take legal action against the GP responsible for the operation.
This Is Staffordshire reported that Faiqa Akram and her husband Nadeem are getting ready to lodge a claim for potential clinical negligence against Manchester-based doctor Munir Butt.
Ms Akram paid £80 for her three-month old son, Naveed, to be circumcised at Dr Butt’s private clinic, as she could not have the treatment on the NHS.
But she described the clinic as a "circumcision factory" and said the family "could not believe" what they saw inside.
"There were 12 other babies waiting to be seen. When it was Naveed’s turn, we had to leave him on a wooden table with just a changing mat," she said.
When Ms Akram later brought the baby to a doctor, he was then referred to a surgeon at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire, where he needed to undergo a full operation under general anaesthetic. It is thought he could require further surgery to repair the damage.
A total of four boys have needed hospital treatment at the facility after complications arising from private circumcisions.
The University Hospital of North Staffordshire NHS Trust serves around half a million people in the Staffordshire Moorlands, Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyne.
Tags: Akram, Babies, Butt, Circumcision, Circumcisions, Clinical Negligence, General Anaesthetic, Gp, Half A Million, Mother Son, Nadeem, Negligence Claim, Newcastle Under Lyne, Nhs Trust, North Staffordshire, Private Clinic
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March 19th, 2009
Figures obtained by a newspaper have revealed that an NHS trust was forced to make one of the UK’s largest payouts for clinical negligence in 2007 after admitting liability for an incident in which a child was left disabled.
Swindon and Marlborough NHS Trust paid £3.6 million in compensation to the unnamed family two years ago, the Swindon Advertiser revealed.
The child in question was taken to the town’s former Princess Margaret Hospital in Okus, which is no longer in operation.
However, he or she did not receive adequate care and was left with permanent brain damage as a result.
Stephen Ellis, a spokesperson for Patient Care, said the payout was justified given the severity of the child’s injuries.
"What needs to be understood about that is we’re talking about children or babies with disabilities they have for the rest of their lives," he pointed out.
The trust paid the family as part of an out-of-court settlement and said it hoped the money would assist them in the future care of their child.
According to the Meningitis Trust, over 500,000 people in the UK have had some form of meningitis.
Tags: 6 Million, Adequate Care, Babies, Brain Damage, Clinical Negligence, Compensation Payouts, Court Settlement, Disabilities, Former Princess Margaret Hospital, Future Care, Led, Marlborough, Meningitis, Nhs Trust, Patient Care, Princess Margaret Hospital, Severity, Spokesperson, Swindon Advertiser
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October 17th, 2008
A girl has launched a claim for compensation after an infection caught at birth caused her ongoing health problems.
Clarice Wright, now 11, caught chickenpox at 11 months old, the Gazette Live reports.
However, after she was discharged by the doctors, her condition worsened and she began feeling drowsy and vomiting.
Her mother Demelza contacted medics at Cambridge Medical Group, Linthorpe, but she claims they refused to do a home visit.
An infection set in and got into Clarice’s hip, causing it to fracture.
As a result, she now has one leg longer than the other and is unable to walk long distances.
She also faces future surgery on her legs and hips.
Through her mother, she has now launched a legal bid to claim for compensation of around £300,000.
Cambridge Medical Group declined to comment on the case.
According to NCT, when babies are exposed to chickenpox after they are born they may be slightly more at risk than older children. In such cases the disease would begin between seven and 28 days after birth.
Tags: 28 Days, 300k, Babies, Bid, Cambridge, Chickenpox, Compensation Claim, Doctors, Fracture, Health Problems, Hips, Legs, Long Distances, Medical Group, Medics, Risk
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June 9th, 2008
Tests for pre-eclampsia – a serious medical condition that can cause high blood pressure in pregnant women – are inadequate, it has been claimed.
A study by the National Institute for Health Research found that the tests were not accurate enough to be recommended for use, reports Legal and Medical.
According to NHS Direct, pre-eclampsia is responsible for the deaths of between seven and ten mothers and up to 1,000 babies every year.
The condition also leads to complications in around eight per cent of all pregnancies and clinical negligence cases related to pre-eclampsia are also extremely common.
Carried out at Birmingham University, the research – led by Professor Khalid Khan – looked at existing evidence on current methods used to predict and prevent the condition, with the aim of identifying tests and treatments that would be cost-effective and clinically sound.
Research Janesh Gupta, professor of obstetrics and gynaecology, commented: "Most of these tests are widely available and have been used in the NHS but none were found to be sufficiently accurate to be used in routine clinical practice."
Tags: Aim, Babies, Birmingham University, Clinical Negligence, Deaths, Gupta, Health Research, High Blood Pressure, Khalid Khan, Medical Conditions, Medical Tests, National Health, National Institute For Health, Negligence Cases, Nhs, Obstetrics And Gynaecology, Pre Eclampsia, Pregnant Women, Routine Clinical Practice, Serious Medical Condition
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