January 16th, 2009
A woman is considering legal action against an NHS trust after her son put a discarded needle into his mouth at a health centre.
Shareen Mills, 28, had taken Harvey Mills, 21 months, to Cannon Street Health Centre in Hathershaw while his older brother had a vaccination.
However, while she held her other son, Harvey wandered off to another part of the room where a sharps bin was situated.
The child took a hypodermic needle and put it in his mouth. The family must now wait a year to see if Harvey has contracted Hepatitis B.
Gail Richards, chief executive of NHS Oldham – which is responsible for the care of 227,000 people – said: "We have launched an immediate investigation and … all necessary steps will be taken to get to the bottom of this incident and take any action needed."
Ms Mills may now sue the trust for clinical negligence.
Tags: 000 People, 21 Months, Brother, Cannon Street, Chief Executive, Clinical Negligence, Gail Richards, Health Centre, Hepatitis, Hepatitis B, Hypodermic Needle, Ms Mills, Necessary Steps, Nhs Trust, Oldham, Shareen, Sharps, Vaccination, Woman
Posted in Clinical Negligence News | No Comments »
November 21st, 2008
A hospital has agreed upon a compensation settlement with a family whose baby died after being born with severe brain damage.
Ava Sims Teskey-King was delivered at Hull Women and Children’s Hospital in 2006, but complications meant that she was born with the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck.
She died aged 21 months, the BBC reports.
Her parents, Leanne Teskey-King and Lee Sims, took legal action against Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust after seeking other opinions about the birth.
"They do say that had she been delivered something like 20 minutes earlier, she could have survived," Ms Teskey-King said.
The trust admitted liability for Ava’s premature death and Stephen Greep, the chief executive offered his condolences to the family.
Ava’s parents will receive £104,000 in compensation for their loss.
If clinical negligence and poor medical care can be found to have contributed to a death, compensation may be sought from the NHS trust responsible.
Anyone who feels they may have such a case should seek legal advice.
Tags: 21 Months, Ava, Bbc, Brain Child, Brain Damage, Chief Executive, Clinical Negligence, Condolences, East Yorkshire, Greep, Hospitals Nhs Trust, Legal Advice, Poor Medical Care, Premature Death, S Hospital, Sims, Teskey, Umbilical Cord, Yorkshire
Posted in Clinical Negligence News | No Comments »
November 3rd, 2008
A new campaign to ensure that hospitals and other NHS facilities follow safe working practices has been introduced in England.
The Safer Birth Initiative launched by the King’s Fund will begin in 2009 and will help midwives, obstetricians and managers improve safety precautions during the delivery of babies.
King’s Fund chief executive Niall Dickson said: "Prospective mothers and their families want to have confidence that maternity care is safe and, in general, services in this country are good. But we also know more could be done to ensure safe care at birth is a constant throughout the NHS."
It is hoped this will result in a reduction of cases in which babies are injured at birth.
Last month, it was reported that the family of Macauley Joyce, who suffers from spastic cerebral palsy as a result of being starved of oxygen at birth, is to receive compensation.
He will be paid £1.1 million in a lump sum, as well as yearly payments for the rest of his life.
Tags: 1 Million, Cerebral Palsy, Chief Executive, Clinical Negligence, Confidence, Delivery Of Babies, England, Hospitals, Initiative, Lump Sum, Macauley, Maternity Care, Nhs Facilities, Obstetricians, Oxygen, Safe Working Practices, Safety Precautions
Posted in Clinical Negligence News | No Comments »
August 6th, 2008
A man who claims his wife died as a result of medical negligence is to receive an apology from the hospital involved.
Phyllis Harvey lost her life two months after having bowel surgery at King’s Mill Hospital, which is located in Sutton in Ashfield in Nottinghamshire and is run by the Sherwood Forest NHS Foundation Trust.
Despite the initial procedure being a success, the 73-year-old became increasingly frail in the following weeks, suffering from a lack of nutrients and from bed sores, the Mansfield Chad reports.
According to her husband, Peter Harvey, she died as a result of "medical negligence and lack in the duty of care".
In a recent development, the foundation trust has confirmed it is to apologise to Mr Harvey.
Its chief executive Jeffrey Worrall said: "We are very sorry for the standard of care that was given to Mrs Harvey and we will be apologising in writing to Mr Harvey for what happened."
Tags: Apology, Bed Sores, Bowel Surgery, Chief Executive, Duty Of Care, Foundation Trust, Initial Procedure, Mansfield Chad, Medical Negligence Case, Mr Harvey, Nhs, Nottinghamshire, Nutrients, Pensioner, Peter Harvey, Sherwood Forest, Sutton In Ashfield, Worrall
Posted in Clinical Negligence News | No Comments »
July 7th, 2008
Around 100 people are forced to have a limb amputated due to diabetes, it has been revealed.
According to Diabetes UK, greater awareness of the condition and its impact is urgently needed.
Douglas Smallwood, chief executive of the charity, said that most amputations could be prevented by improving awareness and management of diabetes.
He told the Press Association: "People with diabetes need to have optimum support, guidance and clinical care to help minimise the risks of amputation."
Figures suggest around 5,000 people undergo amputations every year and diabetics are 15 times more likely to have a lower limb removed than those without the disease.
According to NHS Direct, approximately 2.3 millionaire affected by diabetes in the UK. Around two per cent of pregnant women are also affected by gestational diabetes whereby the body cannot produce enough insulin to absorb the high levels of glucose in the blood.
Tags: 100 People, Amputation, Amputations, Charity, Chief Executive, Diabetes, Diabetes Awareness, Diabetes Uk, Diabetics, Douglas Smallwood, Gestational Diabetes, Glucose, Greater Awareness, Guidance, Insulin, Lower Limb, Management Of Diabetes, Millionaire, Optimum Support, Pregnant Women
Posted in Clinical Negligence News | No Comments »
