November 9th, 2009
The death of a patient due to clinical negligence has led the NHS to terminate the contract of the private firm who provided the doctor.
Take Care Now hired Daniel Ubani to work in Cambridgeshire for the NHS.
But on his first shift as a UK locum, he killed patient David Gray with a painkiller overdose, reports the Guardian.
Ubani, a German national, was convicted in his home country of causing death by negligence in an incident which occurred in 2008.
He had flown in to take up his new post the day before and Ubani said that he had been "too tired" when he administered the drug, which was ten times more than the normal recommended dose.
The clinical negligence case led to an internal NHS investigation into Take Care Now.
It carried out 20 unannounced inspection visits and has declared that its dissatisfaction and concern with the overall performance of Take Care Now had led to a formal remedial notice being issued to the company.
Tags: Cambridgeshire, Clinical Negligence, David Gray, Dissatisfaction, Guardian, Led, Locum, Negligence Case, Nhs, Private Firm, Recommended Dose, Unannounced Inspection
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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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October 6th, 2009
A family is taking legal action against the bosses of a hospital in Leeds after an incident in which a woman died during surgery.
Christine Tunnicliffe, 63, was admitted to Leeds General Infirmary in May 2007 after complaining of stomach pains, the Yorkshire Evening Post reports.
She was put onto a ventilator and taken in for an exploratory laparotomy. However, she continued to experience problems after the operation and was examined again the following day.
It was only then that a six-centimetre tear in her windpipe was discovered that was likely to be the result of the anaesthetist having to make three attempts to put her breathing apparatus in.
Ms Tunnicliffe died ten days later and her family said they are "astounded" that the tear was not noticed sooner.
"We truly believe this contributed to our mother’s sudden death," said her daughter Lynne Bradshaw.
The family is now taking legal action for clinical negligence against Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
An exploratory laparotomy is the medical term for surgery performed on the abdomen using a full-sized incision, rather than a minimally invasive approach.
Tags: Abdomen, Anaesthetist, Attempts, Breathing Apparatus, Clinical Negligence, Exploratory Laparotomy, Incision, Invasive Approach, Leeds General Infirmary, Medical Term, Nhs, Stomach Pains, Sudden Death, Teaching Hospitals, Ventilator, Windpipe, Woman, Yorkshire, Yorkshire Evening Post
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September 23rd, 2009
A group of angry diners have said they intend to sue celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal for compensation after contracting food poisoning at his restaurant.
The Health Protection Agency carried out an investigation and found that shellfish contaminated with human sewage were to blame for the outbreak of norovirus poisoning and that sick staff continued to work with the food afterwards.
Boxing promoter Frank Warren was among those who fell ill and told the Daily Mail: "I am taking them to court and a lot of other people are too."
Earlier this month, the Ilkley Gazette reported that a number of diners are fighting for compensation after getting food poisoning from a restaurant called the Saffron.
According to the NHS, noroviruses are among the most common causes of gastroenteritis in the UK. They affect between 600,000 and one million people in Britain every year and can be spread by eating contaminated food.
Tags: Causes Of Gastroenteritis, Celebrity Chef, Contaminated Food, Daily Mail, Diners, Food Poisoning, Frank Warren, Getting Food, Health Protection Agency, Heston Blumenthal, Human Sewage, Ilkley Gazette, Nhs, Noroviruses, One Million, Outbreak, Promoter Frank Warren, Saffron, Shellfish
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September 7th, 2009
Mistakes by NHS staff in prescribing and administering drugs cause moderate or severe harm to more than 220 patients every month, according to a new report.
Figures compiled by the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) show that there were 86,085 reported medication mistakes during 2007, although it is believed only around ten per cent of incidents were recorded.
The vast majority of the mistakes resulted in little or no harm to patients. However, 37 patients died as a result of medication incidents, 63 suffered severe harm and 2,710 errors caused moderate harm.
NPSA statistics showed that 41 per cent of the most serious incidents were caused by mistakes in the administration of drugs, while 32 per cent resulted from prescribing mistakes.
Responding to the NPSA’s report, Norman Lamb, health spokesman for the Liberal Democrats, called on NHS officials to ensure systems to protect patient safety are in place.
He added: "Settling claims for damages costs the NHS nearly £1 billion per year, which could be spent on patient care."
Tags: 1 Billion, Administration Of Drugs, Damages, Deaths, Health, Lead, Liberal Democrats, Medication, Medication Mistakes, National Patient Safety, National Patient Safety Agency, Nhs, Norman Lamb, Npsa, Patient Care, Patient Safety Agency, Spokesman, Statistics
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