A patient woke up from surgery at Halifax Hospital Medical Center last month to find her surgeon had operated on the wrong leg.
But, that's not how the cardiovascular surgeon explained it to her, according to a report from Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration, which investigated the July 3 incident. Instead, the surgeon told the patient that her other leg needed to be done anyway. Then he asked her to sign a consent after the fact, according to the report.
Patient 34, as she is referred to in the agency's report, was admitted to the Daytona Beach hospital for vascular disease, which was causing pain in her left leg. She gave her consent to have vascular graft surgery on her left leg. But the surgical staff scheduled the procedure for her right leg.
The surgeon talked with the patient the night before about the left-leg procedure she was to have, and he marked her left leg with a pen, according to the report.
The operating room nurse supervisor said that when she talked to the patient before surgery, the patient said she was having her left leg done, "but [the nurse] still had it in her mind the right leg," the report said.
A nurse anesthetist caught the error after the operation was underway on the wrong leg. She told another nurse who told the surgeon to stop.
The surgeon then proceeded to operate on the left leg, according to the report.
The day after the surgery, the surgeon talked to the patient and her daughter. "I explained to them that the surgery was justified because of her history," the surgeon said, according to an interview with ACHA conducted three weeks after the error.
"I then explained to them that I performed the procedure on the left leg that we obtained the consent for originally, and I asked the patient to sign a consent for the procedure that was done on the right leg."
When asked if he told the patient the surgery was an error, he said, "No, what I described to the patient was that the right side surgery was justified. I did not use the term 'wrong-site surgery'…I was thinking more about myself and justifying what was done to the patient," he said, according to the report.
Two-week delay
Though the hospital administration knew of the error the day it occurred, it did not report it to AHCA for 15 days, according to the report.
"We had a wrong-site surgery. We had a system in place, but we did not proceed in the proper way," said hospital spokesman John Guthrie.
"We self reported. We're not denying it. We have policies in place, and training in place, but the system broke down because of the human element," he said.
Wrong-site surgeries are rare because hospitals have extensive cross-checks in place to verify the correct procedure is being done on the correct patient on the correct side. The last time Halifax had a wrong-site surgery was in 1999, on an incorrect finger, said Guthrie. Halifax Hospital's surgeons perform 8,000 operations a year.
In the first six months of this year, 35 patients in Florida have had operations on the wrong site, according to AHCA data. Six have had the wrong surgery performed, and in one case surgery was performed on the wrong patient.
When asked what took the hospital so long to report the error to state officials, Guthrie said the hospital reported within the allowed time frame, and didn't want to rush the process.
"We knew we were going to change people's lives based on root-cause analysis, so we wanted to find the root cause," Guthrie said.
'Serious threat'
After learning of the incident, the state health-care agency began an intense survey of the hospital from July 22 to July 25. Health officials interviewed the staff involved in the wrong-site surgery, the surgeon and the patient, and observed operating-room management and hygiene procedures.
Agency officials uncovered numerous problems at the 678-bed public hospital, including a cleaning person who washed down the operating room table with the same water she had just used to mop the floor, according to the report.
They also found expired medications on drug carts in use.
The surgeon involved is no longer on staff, said Guthrie. The hospital also suspended the operating-room team involved, and one of the team members no longer works for the hospital.
As a result of their findings, the agency concluded that the hospital was in a state of "immediate jeopardy." An agency letter to Halifax Hospital dated July 30 stated, "The conditions at your facility pose an immediate and serious threat to the health and safety of patients."
Based on the findings, the agency recommended to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid that the hospital's provider agreement be terminated as of Saturday, Aug. 17.
A termination would mean that Halifax Hospital could no longer receive payments for Medicare or Medicaid patients, a population that comprises up to 70 percent of its patients, said Guthrie.
This article is courtesy of Orlando Sentinel.
Regularly updated blog featuring news, articles and information relating to clinical/medical negligence.
Saturday, 7 September 2013
Friday, 6 September 2013
Medical malpractice: 10 common slip-ups that can get you sued
In my experience and in my review of recent malpractice cases, I've seen the same mistakes being made time and again. Here are the top 10 to guard against.
Emergency equipment and rescue drugs aren't always available
When you need those things, you need them right now. Even with minor procedures, patients respond differently, so it's paramount in every situation to be completely prepared for an emergency. Take malignant hyperthermia, for example. Keep dantrolene in or very close to the OR, so that it's available immediately if MH occurs. That means having enough people available to handle any emergency, too. The situation is becoming more critical as the scope of procedures being done in ambulatory facilities is widening. A lot of cases shouldn't be done in outpatient settings, but people are pushing the envelope.
Training, education and staffing are inadequate
Continuous training and educational programs in all areas staff members routinely deal with are critical. Make sure everyone is up to date on all the subspecialties that your facility handles. When the volume of cases gets to the point that there's no time to do in-services, you're asking for trouble.
Inadequate monitoring (malfunctioning, missing)
Facilities that are surgery-driven don't always concern themselves with other equipment, as long as the surgical equipment is up to date. But as facilities take on more difficult cases, more patients with comorbidities, more patients who are older and obese, they're creating a recipe for trouble. If you're not monitoring properly, you're really just winging it. And by the time you figure out something has gone wrong, it can be too late to intervene.
Alarms are muted
This, of course, is a cardinal sin, and everybody knows it. Still, a lot of people who've been practicing a long time don't want to hear alarms. So they mute them, thinking they won't be the ones who are susceptible to human error. But we're all only human. The alarms are a backup to alert you if there's a trend or a change of any kind that might need to be addressed. Sadly, "alarm fatigue" has become so common that it's become a new National Patient Safety Goal initiative. I consider it malpractice to turn off an alarm, and you can be sure risk managers and plaintiffs' lawyers do, too.
This article is courtesy of Outpatient Surgery.
Emergency equipment and rescue drugs aren't always available
When you need those things, you need them right now. Even with minor procedures, patients respond differently, so it's paramount in every situation to be completely prepared for an emergency. Take malignant hyperthermia, for example. Keep dantrolene in or very close to the OR, so that it's available immediately if MH occurs. That means having enough people available to handle any emergency, too. The situation is becoming more critical as the scope of procedures being done in ambulatory facilities is widening. A lot of cases shouldn't be done in outpatient settings, but people are pushing the envelope.
Training, education and staffing are inadequate
Continuous training and educational programs in all areas staff members routinely deal with are critical. Make sure everyone is up to date on all the subspecialties that your facility handles. When the volume of cases gets to the point that there's no time to do in-services, you're asking for trouble.
Inadequate monitoring (malfunctioning, missing)
Facilities that are surgery-driven don't always concern themselves with other equipment, as long as the surgical equipment is up to date. But as facilities take on more difficult cases, more patients with comorbidities, more patients who are older and obese, they're creating a recipe for trouble. If you're not monitoring properly, you're really just winging it. And by the time you figure out something has gone wrong, it can be too late to intervene.
Alarms are muted
This, of course, is a cardinal sin, and everybody knows it. Still, a lot of people who've been practicing a long time don't want to hear alarms. So they mute them, thinking they won't be the ones who are susceptible to human error. But we're all only human. The alarms are a backup to alert you if there's a trend or a change of any kind that might need to be addressed. Sadly, "alarm fatigue" has become so common that it's become a new National Patient Safety Goal initiative. I consider it malpractice to turn off an alarm, and you can be sure risk managers and plaintiffs' lawyers do, too.
This article is courtesy of Outpatient Surgery.
Thursday, 5 September 2013
Medical error ‘robbed me of a year of my life’
For 18 days, the burning, oozing wound on Lynn Burkitt’s chest grew larger and more painful.
The Medicine Hat woman, who’d recently undergone a double mastectomy, made multiple trips to the emergency room to try to figure out what was wrong.
“It was extreme pain. The smell was gross, the discharge was gross,” she said.
It wasn’t until she’d undergone another surgery that she found out what happened: the doctor who’d performed her mastectomy left two rolls of sterile gauze inside and, with no one taking proper care of the wound, the material was now festering inside her chest.
Burkitt, 52, said she’s since learned that a series of mishap and miscommunications meant that no one — including the homecare nurses taking care of her, the ER doctors or any member of her care team — realized the surgeon had left the gauze inside her wound.
She said she is still recovering from the June 2012 experience and wants to see Alberta Health Services put new safeguards in place so others don’t have to endure the same pain.
“I want answers on what changes they’re going to do, because they said ‘We’re going to come up with new processes.’ ”
In a statement, AHS said a patient safety review at the Medicine Hat hospital “focused on continuity of care, communication between and among caregivers, and smoother transfer of patient care between programs (and) departments.”
Changes have since been made, including a new “visual alert” on a patient chart for unusual or special-care needs, and ongoing efforts to improve communication between caregivers and different departments.
“We have apologized to Ms. Burkitt personally and in writing and we continue to wish her the best in her recovery,” according to the AHS statement.
Burkitt said she chose to undergo a double mastectomy in June 2012 after she was diagnosed with an early stage breast cancer, then soon had another surgery to deal with infection.
She said the homecare nurses who took care of her after the second procedure did the best they could when her wound flared up, but simply didn’t know about the gauze.
According to Burkitt, she was eventually prescribed antibiotics after making multiple trips to the emergency ward.
She said it shouldn’t have taken a surgery for medical staff to read the mastectomy surgeon’s operative report that said the gauze was used on her wound.
The Medicine Hat woman said she’s been trying to get answers from AHS for months on what happened. While representatives assigned to her case told her last fall they’d do a full investigation, she didn’t hear back. It was only after Burkitt took her story public that she said she heard the results of the probe.
“I don’t want anybody else to go through this,” said Burkitt.
“There has to be a policy in place when somebody has packing put inside of them that it is marked on the chart, or people read the chart. There’s no communication that goes on between the different departments.”
“They robbed me of over a year of my life.”
This article is courtesy of the Calgary Herald.
The Medicine Hat woman, who’d recently undergone a double mastectomy, made multiple trips to the emergency room to try to figure out what was wrong.
“It was extreme pain. The smell was gross, the discharge was gross,” she said.
It wasn’t until she’d undergone another surgery that she found out what happened: the doctor who’d performed her mastectomy left two rolls of sterile gauze inside and, with no one taking proper care of the wound, the material was now festering inside her chest.
Burkitt, 52, said she’s since learned that a series of mishap and miscommunications meant that no one — including the homecare nurses taking care of her, the ER doctors or any member of her care team — realized the surgeon had left the gauze inside her wound.
She said she is still recovering from the June 2012 experience and wants to see Alberta Health Services put new safeguards in place so others don’t have to endure the same pain.
“I want answers on what changes they’re going to do, because they said ‘We’re going to come up with new processes.’ ”
In a statement, AHS said a patient safety review at the Medicine Hat hospital “focused on continuity of care, communication between and among caregivers, and smoother transfer of patient care between programs (and) departments.”
Changes have since been made, including a new “visual alert” on a patient chart for unusual or special-care needs, and ongoing efforts to improve communication between caregivers and different departments.
“We have apologized to Ms. Burkitt personally and in writing and we continue to wish her the best in her recovery,” according to the AHS statement.
Burkitt said she chose to undergo a double mastectomy in June 2012 after she was diagnosed with an early stage breast cancer, then soon had another surgery to deal with infection.
She said the homecare nurses who took care of her after the second procedure did the best they could when her wound flared up, but simply didn’t know about the gauze.
According to Burkitt, she was eventually prescribed antibiotics after making multiple trips to the emergency ward.
She said it shouldn’t have taken a surgery for medical staff to read the mastectomy surgeon’s operative report that said the gauze was used on her wound.
The Medicine Hat woman said she’s been trying to get answers from AHS for months on what happened. While representatives assigned to her case told her last fall they’d do a full investigation, she didn’t hear back. It was only after Burkitt took her story public that she said she heard the results of the probe.
“I don’t want anybody else to go through this,” said Burkitt.
“There has to be a policy in place when somebody has packing put inside of them that it is marked on the chart, or people read the chart. There’s no communication that goes on between the different departments.”
“They robbed me of over a year of my life.”
This article is courtesy of the Calgary Herald.
Wednesday, 4 September 2013
East Lancashire NHS Trust faces 79 negligence claims
Solicitors investigating claims against Mid Staffordshire hospitals are also probing 79 negligence cases against two Lancashire hospitals.
The potential claims are against the East Lancashire NHS Trust which runs the Royal Blackburn and Burnley General hospitals.
It was placed into special measures after Sir Bruce Keogh's investigation into hospital death rates.
The investigation was sparked by concern over the Mid Staffs trust.
The Keogh inquiry, which reported last month, was set up after a report into high death rates at two hospitals in Mid Staffordshire earlier this year found there were hundreds more deaths than expected, with patients let down by poor standards of care.
Keogh investigated 14 trusts and put 11 into special measures, including East Lancashire and Tameside Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
Three law firms have confirmed they are acting on behalf of patients' relatives from East Lancashire.
Irwin Mitchell has 49 cases from East Lancashire, Pannone has 27 and Leigh Day has three.
'Soiled sheets'
Adam Lamb, of Leigh Day, said: "The kind of issues that our clients complain about are where they have not received hydration or nutrition, where they have been left sitting in soiled or wet bed sheets, and where they have not received any medication or where there has been poor communication between the families and the hospital."
Mark Brearley, Chief Executive at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "The trust works hard to maintain high standards of health care.
"We understand things occasionally go wrong, and when that happens we encourage patients, their relatives or carers to tell us about it.
"In all reported clinical negligence cases, the trust works in collaboration with the NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA)."
The law firms also have cases involving Tameside NHS Hospital Trust and Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, which were also investigated by Keogh, although Blackpool was not put into special measures.
Pannone has 40 cases from Tameside and 25 from Blackpool, Irwin Mitchell 19 from Tameside and 11 from Blackpool, while Leigh Day has two from Tameside and one from Blackpool.
A spokesman for Tameside Hospital said: "As of June 2013 the trust had 87 claims open with the NHS Litigation Authority, which handles claims on our behalf."
The Department of Health said: "The vast majority of patients get good, safe care".
It added that the best way to reduce compensation claims was to improve patient safety further and that this was a priority.
This article is courtesy of BBC News.
The potential claims are against the East Lancashire NHS Trust which runs the Royal Blackburn and Burnley General hospitals.
It was placed into special measures after Sir Bruce Keogh's investigation into hospital death rates.
The investigation was sparked by concern over the Mid Staffs trust.
The Keogh inquiry, which reported last month, was set up after a report into high death rates at two hospitals in Mid Staffordshire earlier this year found there were hundreds more deaths than expected, with patients let down by poor standards of care.
Keogh investigated 14 trusts and put 11 into special measures, including East Lancashire and Tameside Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
Three law firms have confirmed they are acting on behalf of patients' relatives from East Lancashire.
Irwin Mitchell has 49 cases from East Lancashire, Pannone has 27 and Leigh Day has three.
'Soiled sheets'
Adam Lamb, of Leigh Day, said: "The kind of issues that our clients complain about are where they have not received hydration or nutrition, where they have been left sitting in soiled or wet bed sheets, and where they have not received any medication or where there has been poor communication between the families and the hospital."
Mark Brearley, Chief Executive at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "The trust works hard to maintain high standards of health care.
"We understand things occasionally go wrong, and when that happens we encourage patients, their relatives or carers to tell us about it.
"In all reported clinical negligence cases, the trust works in collaboration with the NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA)."
The law firms also have cases involving Tameside NHS Hospital Trust and Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, which were also investigated by Keogh, although Blackpool was not put into special measures.
Pannone has 40 cases from Tameside and 25 from Blackpool, Irwin Mitchell 19 from Tameside and 11 from Blackpool, while Leigh Day has two from Tameside and one from Blackpool.
A spokesman for Tameside Hospital said: "As of June 2013 the trust had 87 claims open with the NHS Litigation Authority, which handles claims on our behalf."
The Department of Health said: "The vast majority of patients get good, safe care".
It added that the best way to reduce compensation claims was to improve patient safety further and that this was a priority.
This article is courtesy of BBC News.
Tuesday, 3 September 2013
University of Toledo Medical Center denies negligence in kidney transplant case
The University of Toledo Medical Center denies a family's allegations of medical negligence over a botched kidney transplant and wants the Ohio Court of Claims to dismiss the case, according to court filings.
The hospital has said a nurse accidentally threw out a chilled, protective slush containing a viable kidney donated to a Toledo woman by her younger brother in August 2012. The 24-year-old woman, who was suffering from end-stage renal disease, later received a different kidney in Colorado, court records show.
A complaint by the siblings and their family alleged the facility in northwest Ohio was negligent, causing physical and emotional suffering for the patients and emotional distress for their parents. The sister awoke in a recovery area with no incision and initially feared her brother had died in surgery, the complaint said. Her parents worried about their daughter's prognosis and about their son losing a kidney in vain, it said.
The complaint also said the parents and other siblings lost the pair's comfort and companionship because of the alleged negligence.
In documents filed Tuesday, the hospital denied the allegations and sought dismissal of the case. In a specific request to dismiss the counts involving the relatives' alleged losses, it argued that Ohio law doesn't provide for parents and siblings of an affected adult to recover damages for such losses.
A statement from an attorney for the family says adults can recover damages for such losses involving their parents, and the same should be true if the situation is reversed.
The medical center apologized for the error, underwent internal and external reviews, clarified some procedures and temporarily suspended its live kidney donation program, which has since resumed. It has declined to comment on the pending litigation.
The nurse who disposed of the kidney retired, and another who was present and was suspended then fired has sued for wrongful termination. The surgeon in charge of the case no longer oversees renal transplantation for the hospital but continues to perform transplants and is a professor, according to court records.
The eight family members who filed the case, including the patients, are each seeking monetary damages of at least $25,000.
This article is courtesy of The Huffington Post.
The hospital has said a nurse accidentally threw out a chilled, protective slush containing a viable kidney donated to a Toledo woman by her younger brother in August 2012. The 24-year-old woman, who was suffering from end-stage renal disease, later received a different kidney in Colorado, court records show.
A complaint by the siblings and their family alleged the facility in northwest Ohio was negligent, causing physical and emotional suffering for the patients and emotional distress for their parents. The sister awoke in a recovery area with no incision and initially feared her brother had died in surgery, the complaint said. Her parents worried about their daughter's prognosis and about their son losing a kidney in vain, it said.
The complaint also said the parents and other siblings lost the pair's comfort and companionship because of the alleged negligence.
In documents filed Tuesday, the hospital denied the allegations and sought dismissal of the case. In a specific request to dismiss the counts involving the relatives' alleged losses, it argued that Ohio law doesn't provide for parents and siblings of an affected adult to recover damages for such losses.
A statement from an attorney for the family says adults can recover damages for such losses involving their parents, and the same should be true if the situation is reversed.
The medical center apologized for the error, underwent internal and external reviews, clarified some procedures and temporarily suspended its live kidney donation program, which has since resumed. It has declined to comment on the pending litigation.
The nurse who disposed of the kidney retired, and another who was present and was suspended then fired has sued for wrongful termination. The surgeon in charge of the case no longer oversees renal transplantation for the hospital but continues to perform transplants and is a professor, according to court records.
The eight family members who filed the case, including the patients, are each seeking monetary damages of at least $25,000.
This article is courtesy of The Huffington Post.
Monday, 2 September 2013
Patient awarded £27,500 compensation from dentist
A patient who was left needing extensive dental surgery after "unnecessary" implants were installed in her gums has been awarded £27,500 from a Reigate dentist.
Harriet Moggridge, 26, who was born with a rare genetic condition which left her with less than half the normal number of adult teeth, had hoped she would finally get the smile she always wanted when she agreed to two teeth implants.
But her experience soon turned into a dental nightmare after she was slapped with a bill for four implants rather than two, which she hadn't agreed to and which began to fail just a few months later.
"It was a nightmare, as you can imagine," said Miss Moggridge.
"I'm feeling a lot better now that we've won but it's still annoying that I've had to go through all this.
"I've still got to have corrective surgery done so most of the money is going on that."
Her problems started in July 2010 following the surgery in which Miss Moggridge thought her dentist, Dr Henk Freeke of the Ringley Park Dental Practice in Reigate, was going to remove two teeth and install two implants.
But after waking up from surgery with a black eye and an intense pain she immediately knew something was wrong and sought a second opinion.
"I went to another dentist in Teddington and he said he was shocked at what he saw," she continued.
"I couldn't believe the look on his face when he saw the right side of my head.
"When we did the corrective surgery he didn't have to use anything to get the implants out – they just fell out.
"Also because I suffer from Ectodermal Dysplasia I don't have much bone in my mouth anyway and the implants were too big for my gums and they'd gone into my sinuses.
"My other dentist did a CT scan, which he said should have been taken before but wasn't, and saw straight away it was wrong."
After three years of surgery, and with more still ahead of her, Miss Moggridge says she is hopeful she will now be able to put this saga behind her and use her compensation to fund more corrective surgery to put right everything that has happened before now.
"It wasn't supposed to take this long," she added.
"It just doesn't do your confidence any good because this is something that should've been done two or three years ago, so it's quite depressing.
"Now I've found a really good dentist who's helping me out."
Yvonne Berry, practice manager at Ringley Park Dental Practice, said: "We're disappointed that the treatment didn't go as well as expected and we hope the settlement goes some way to settling the matter for this patient."
This article is courtesy of This is Surrey Today.
Harriet Moggridge, 26, who was born with a rare genetic condition which left her with less than half the normal number of adult teeth, had hoped she would finally get the smile she always wanted when she agreed to two teeth implants.
But her experience soon turned into a dental nightmare after she was slapped with a bill for four implants rather than two, which she hadn't agreed to and which began to fail just a few months later.
"It was a nightmare, as you can imagine," said Miss Moggridge.
"I'm feeling a lot better now that we've won but it's still annoying that I've had to go through all this.
"I've still got to have corrective surgery done so most of the money is going on that."
Her problems started in July 2010 following the surgery in which Miss Moggridge thought her dentist, Dr Henk Freeke of the Ringley Park Dental Practice in Reigate, was going to remove two teeth and install two implants.
But after waking up from surgery with a black eye and an intense pain she immediately knew something was wrong and sought a second opinion.
"I went to another dentist in Teddington and he said he was shocked at what he saw," she continued.
"I couldn't believe the look on his face when he saw the right side of my head.
"When we did the corrective surgery he didn't have to use anything to get the implants out – they just fell out.
"Also because I suffer from Ectodermal Dysplasia I don't have much bone in my mouth anyway and the implants were too big for my gums and they'd gone into my sinuses.
"My other dentist did a CT scan, which he said should have been taken before but wasn't, and saw straight away it was wrong."
After three years of surgery, and with more still ahead of her, Miss Moggridge says she is hopeful she will now be able to put this saga behind her and use her compensation to fund more corrective surgery to put right everything that has happened before now.
"It wasn't supposed to take this long," she added.
"It just doesn't do your confidence any good because this is something that should've been done two or three years ago, so it's quite depressing.
"Now I've found a really good dentist who's helping me out."
Yvonne Berry, practice manager at Ringley Park Dental Practice, said: "We're disappointed that the treatment didn't go as well as expected and we hope the settlement goes some way to settling the matter for this patient."
This article is courtesy of This is Surrey Today.
Sunday, 1 September 2013
'My mother was so thirsty in hospital I was forced to feed her ice lollies': Daughter's fury after pensioner, 79, was left in squalor as she died from lung cancer
Mrs Aston was admitted to hospital on April 19 last year with pneumonia.
It was only after a physiotherapist spotted Mrs Aston’s health deteriorate and reported it to a senior doctor that the family were told how serious her condition was.
After her mother’s death, Mrs Holmes submitted a complaint to bosses at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.
Mrs Aston’s outraged GP David Farmer, of Merstow Green Medical Practice, Evesham, also wrote to the trust to complain about her treatment.
He said that an earlier diagnosis of cancer would not have saved her life but if it had been picked up 'appropriate end-of-life care could have been put in place'.
Mrs Holmes added: 'The saddest thing was that mum loved that hospital and had always chosen to go there.
'That is the saddest part of it. The place she put her faith and trust in let her down in the end.'
She added: 'Mum received no treatment from the Thursday she went in until the following Monday.
'It was only then they told us she had cancer. A doctor finally decided she should be put in a side room, but there was a breakdown in communication and the consultant didn't come to see us until the next day.
'He told us she had lung cancer and secondary liver cancer.
'She had only gone in for treatment for pneumonia, I wasn't expecting that news.
'I hadn't seen any scans or anything, nothing had been done until then. If we had just known sooner we could have gotten her into a hospice and she could have died with some dignity.
'On the Wednesday morning I received a phone call that I needed to go in, I had just nipped home to change.
'When I got there I went to go into the room and someone put their hand on my shoulder and just said "no, you can't go in there", that was when I knew it was too late.
'Don't get me wrong, there were some fantastic doctors in there who looked after her, but they were surrounded by so many agency staff who didn't know the names of any of the patients.
'I've given the hospital a year, and now I'm speaking out. All they've done since is invite me to one board meeting, which was useless.'
Chief nursing officer Helen Blanchard has written to Mrs Holmes offering a 'heartfelt and sincere' apology.
Mrs Blanchard said: 'We would like to repeat our offer of a sincere apology to Mrs Holmes.
'We accept that aspects of the care that her mother received were unsatisfactory, and we are deeply sorry for her family’s experience.
'We have been in regular contact with Mrs Holmes over the last year to talk about how we have learned from her experience.
'We were very grateful when Mrs Holmes attended a board meeting to allow senior staff to listen to her story and we have taken action to improve care.
'I have written to Mrs Holmes recently to try and maintain communications, and would be happy to meet with the family again to address their needs.'
This article is courtesy of the Mail Online.
It was only after a physiotherapist spotted Mrs Aston’s health deteriorate and reported it to a senior doctor that the family were told how serious her condition was.
After her mother’s death, Mrs Holmes submitted a complaint to bosses at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.
Mrs Aston’s outraged GP David Farmer, of Merstow Green Medical Practice, Evesham, also wrote to the trust to complain about her treatment.
He said that an earlier diagnosis of cancer would not have saved her life but if it had been picked up 'appropriate end-of-life care could have been put in place'.
Mrs Holmes added: 'The saddest thing was that mum loved that hospital and had always chosen to go there.
'That is the saddest part of it. The place she put her faith and trust in let her down in the end.'
She added: 'Mum received no treatment from the Thursday she went in until the following Monday.
'It was only then they told us she had cancer. A doctor finally decided she should be put in a side room, but there was a breakdown in communication and the consultant didn't come to see us until the next day.
'He told us she had lung cancer and secondary liver cancer.
'She had only gone in for treatment for pneumonia, I wasn't expecting that news.
'I hadn't seen any scans or anything, nothing had been done until then. If we had just known sooner we could have gotten her into a hospice and she could have died with some dignity.
'On the Wednesday morning I received a phone call that I needed to go in, I had just nipped home to change.
'When I got there I went to go into the room and someone put their hand on my shoulder and just said "no, you can't go in there", that was when I knew it was too late.
'Don't get me wrong, there were some fantastic doctors in there who looked after her, but they were surrounded by so many agency staff who didn't know the names of any of the patients.
'I've given the hospital a year, and now I'm speaking out. All they've done since is invite me to one board meeting, which was useless.'
Chief nursing officer Helen Blanchard has written to Mrs Holmes offering a 'heartfelt and sincere' apology.
Mrs Blanchard said: 'We would like to repeat our offer of a sincere apology to Mrs Holmes.
'We accept that aspects of the care that her mother received were unsatisfactory, and we are deeply sorry for her family’s experience.
'We have been in regular contact with Mrs Holmes over the last year to talk about how we have learned from her experience.
'We were very grateful when Mrs Holmes attended a board meeting to allow senior staff to listen to her story and we have taken action to improve care.
'I have written to Mrs Holmes recently to try and maintain communications, and would be happy to meet with the family again to address their needs.'
This article is courtesy of the Mail Online.
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