October 15th, 2009
A widow is considering legal action against an NHS trust after her husband died following an operation.
Joseph Gill, 58, was admitted to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary in July for a lung cancer operation. However, he was given the wrong medication six times when staff mixed him up with another patient and he fell ill.
Despite this, he was taken in for the surgery to receive part of his lung on July 7th. Complications arose and he died on July 16th.
Eileen Gill, 55, said she blames NHS Grampian for her husband’s death and claims the nurses had called him George and repeatedly given him medication meant for a heart patient.
She is now demanding answers in order to consider pursuing a clinical negligence compensation claim.
"We’ve got a solicitor but can’t do anything until we know what drug he was given," she commented.
A spokesperson for NHS Grampian denied that the medication mix-up had led to Mr Gill’s death but said that lessons had been learnt since the mistakes.
This comes after research from the Care Quality Commission revealed that one in nine of the 392 NHS trusts in the UK performed badly or failed to improve in the last year.
Tags: Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Cancer Operation, Care Quality, Clinical Negligence Compensation, Compensation Claim, Grampian, Heart Patient, Joseph Gill, July 7th, Lung Cancer, Medication, Mr Gill, Nhs Trust, Nhs Trusts, Nurses, Quality Commission, Six Times, Solicitor, Spokesperson
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September 10th, 2009
The General Medical Council (GMC) has warned that patients may be being put at risk because of a loophole in the system for checking the backgrounds of doctors from overseas.
A medical accident which led to the death of David Gray, 70, last year highlighted the issue of doctors who trained in other countries but now work in the NHS.
Mr Gray died after a German doctor, Daniel Ubani, administered a huge overdose of diamorphine – a drug he was not familiar with using.
European law means qualified doctors from other EU countries do not have their clinical competence tested before they work in the UK, even though training standards are not uniform across the EU.
However, a shortage of doctors means many NHS trusts have little option but to use medical professionals from other countries as locum cover.
Regulations governing freedom of movement of workers also mean that authorities in other EU countries do not have to supply the GMC with details of a doctor’s work history, meaning a medical professional who has been struck off may be able to obtain a job in the UK.
The GMC’s deputy chief executive Paul Philip told the Telegraph: "We can try to get as much information as we can – and we do – but there is no legal obligation for regulators to pass on information to us. We think that creates an unacceptable level of risk."
Any medical accidents resulting from this may lead to legal action and add to the NHS’s spending to settle compensation claims, which totalled £807 million in the 2008-09 financial year.
Tags: Clinical Competence, Compensation Claims, David Gray, Deputy Chief Executive, Doctor Daniel, Eu Countries, Freedom Of Movement, General Medical Council, German Doctor, Legal Obligation, Loophole, Medical Accident, Medical Accidents, Medical Professional, Mr Gray, Nhs Trusts, Patient Safety, Shortage Of Doctors, Unacceptable Level, Work History
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August 19th, 2009
The rate of clinical errors in Cumbria’s two hospitals is among the highest in the country, it has been revealed.
Statistics released this week have shown that £5.3 million was paid out to the victims of clinical negligence by North Cumbria Acute Hospitals NHS Trust in 2008-09, the News and Star reports.
One woman who said she is not surprised by the news is Charlene Steel, whose baby suffered a brain injury because of errors at his birth at Cumberland Infirmary. She said she would travel elsewhere if she needed to use hospital services again.
This comes after figures for the UK as a whole showed that clinical negligence payouts reached £807 million last year, up by 22 per cent on the figure from 2007-08.
There were 8,885 claims brought against NHS trusts for medical blunders, it was found.
Anyone affected by errors during their hospital treatment should seek the advice of a solicitor specialising in clinical negligence claims.
Tags: Acute Hospitals Nhs Trust, Blunder, Brain Injury, Charlene, Clinical Negligence Claims, Cumberland, Cumberland Infirmary, Hospitals Nhs Trust, Hospitals Uk, Medical Blunders, Nhs Trusts, North Cumbria Acute Hospitals, Solicitor Specialising, Star Reports, Statistics
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June 19th, 2009
A woman has pledged to seek compensation from two NHS trusts after her daughter died in hospital from meningitis.
Shazia Ahmed, a 25-year-old mother of one, had already called out-of-hours GP services twice in February when she began to feel unwell with a rash and terrible sickness.
However, the medics refused a home visit and when Ms Ahmed’s symptoms began to worsen, her mother Lorraine Lewis took her to A&E at Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital.
Despite this, her meningitis was not diagnosed for a further 15 hours, by which time it was too late to treat her.
The victim died five days later and Oxfordshire Primary Care Trust and Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals Trust have since apologised for the failings in her care.
The trusts admitted that had Ms Ahmed been diagnosed earlier, a "different outcome" might have been reached.
Ms Lewis said: "What we got was a shoddy service which probably killed my daughter." In an interview with the Oxford Mail, she added: "I’m going to sue. I’ve been to see my solicitor."
Tags: Amp, Apologised, Gp Services, John Radcliffe Hospital, Lorraine Lewis, Medics, Meningitis, Nhs Trusts, Old Mother, Oxford Mail, Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals, Oxfordshire, Primary Care Trust, Quot, Rash, Shazia, Shoddy Service, Solicitor, Woman
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April 14th, 2009
The family of a woman who died after an operation is to receive a compensation payout of £55,000 after it was ruled that her death had been preventable.
Kathleen Doherty, then 29, went into the Royal Preston Hospital in March 2006 to have her gall bladder taken out, the Lancashire Evening Post reports.
However, she began to bleed internally afterwards, a fact that was not noticed by hospital staff.
Ms Doherty died a few hours later and her family went on to launch a clinical negligence claim.
The coroner ruled that medics had not properly monitored Ms Doherty and said that had they been checking her, she would not have died.
Lancashire Teaching Hospitals has agreed to a payout of £55,000 and has apologised to the family, adding that it has addressed issues within the hospital since the death.
Ms Doherty’s mother Frances said: "All I wanted was justice for Kathleen, and to make sure this never happens to anyone else. I hope the hospital have learned from it."
According to the Telegraph, almost 500 people have been seriously disabled by the lack of care they have received in hospital since the Clinical Negligence Scheme for NHS Trusts was established 13 years ago.
Tags: 13 Years, Clinical Negligence, Coroner, Family Of Woman, Gall Bladder, Hospital Staff, Kathleen Doherty, Lancashire Evening Post, Medics, Mother Frances, Negligence Claim, Nhs Trusts, Teaching Hospitals, Telegraph
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