September 29th, 2009
A family has been awarded £410,000 in compensation after a woman died due to errors during a caesarean section.
Joanne Lockham, 45, had been admitted to Stoke Mandeville Hospital at Aylesbury in October 2007 and staff made the decision to give her a caesarean when her baby’s heartbeat dropped.
The patient was put under a general anaesthetic, but doctors mistakenly inserted the oxygen tube into her oesophagus and not her windpipe. She was deprived of oxygen for half an hour and her heart stopped a minute after the baby was born.
Ms Lockham’s life support was turned off two days later.
Her husband Peter decided to sue Buckinghamshire Hospitals NHS Trust after it admitted liability for the death and for "serious failings" in Ms Lockham’s care.
Mr Justice Burnett has now approved a compensation settlement of £410,000 for the loss and to cover the long-term care needs of the baby.
According to Babycentre.co.uk, approximately one in four pregnant women gives birth by caesarean every year.
Tags: Aylesbury, Babycentre, C Section, Caesarean Section, Doctors, General Anaesthetic, Half An Hour, Heart, Heartbeat, Hospitals Nhs Trust, Joanne, Long Term Care, Mr Justice, Oesophagus, Oxygen Tube, Pregnant Women
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July 21st, 2009
A family is suing an NHS trust after their child was born with serious disabilities which were not picked up on in time for an abortion to be carried out.
Franchesca Parsons claims that Musgrove Park Hospital staff should have noticed little Rupert’s disabilities at the 20 week scan and that consequently, his was a wrongful birth because she would not have had him if she had known the extent of his problems.
She is claiming £1.5 million in interim compensation from Taunton and Somerset NHS Trust so that she can move Rupert, now five, into a specially adapted house.
Although the trust admits liability, it is disputing the amount of compensation, so a hearing is to go ahead at a later date.
According to BabyCentre.co.uk, pregnant women will be offered a detailed scan at between 18 and 22 weeks. This will check that the baby is developing normally.
Where problems are evident, an appointment for a scan with a foetal medicine specialist will usually be made within 72 hours and the options for the pregnancy can be discussed.
Tags: 5 Million, Abortion, Appointment, Babycentre, Disabilities, Extent, Foetal Medicine, Hospital Staff, Medicine, Medicine Specialist, Musgrove Park Hospital, Nhs Trust, Parsons, Pregnancy, Pregnant Women, Rupert, Somerset, Taunton, Wrongful Birth
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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
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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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