Investigation into Derby obstetrics and gynaecology consultant
3 Min Read
An investigation is taking place under the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust into the work of a consultant in gynaecology and obstetrics (the management of pregnancy and childbirth), whom the Trust has not named.
Concerns were initially raised by the consultant’s colleagues in late 2018, and the Trust carried out an initial review of 58 cases of women who had been treated by the surgeon. They found that 8 of those 58 women had experienced “unnecessary harm” due to the surgeon’s “lapses in care”.
The Trust has now extended its review to consider the cases of 272 women treated by the consultant between 2015 and 2018. NHS England are overseeing the review.
It won’t be known how many women might have experienced harm until the review is complete.
One woman’s story
One of the women contacted under the review project has called for the Trust to learn lessons from this experience. She underwent a hysterectomy in June 2018 and suffered complications where her bowel was cut and she lost of lot of blood. The review project advised her that other treatment methods could have been discussed with her before moving straight to hysterectomy. If this had happened, her hysterectomy and its complications might have been avoided.
The Trust advised her that, “It is clear from our review that your treatment and care fell significantly below the standard we aim to provide and this has led to you having ongoing health concerns.”
The woman and a number of others contacted have instructed solicitors to investigate their care.
Learning from mistakes
It’s a sad fact that mistakes can happen in medical care. They don’t always cause harm, but sometimes these mistakes can have serious and far-reaching consequences, leaving people with permanent injuries and pain, perhaps needing extra care, sometimes unable to go back to work.
Something we hear time and time again from our clients is that they don’t want the same thing to happen to anybody else. In order to avoid repeating mistakes, hospital Trusts need to learn lessons from where things have gone wrong. That’s why reviews like the one in Derby and Burton are so important.
Since 2014, organisations that provide medical care have a duty of candour, meaning they’re legally obliged to be open and honest with patients when things have gone wrong with their care. Without candour, we cannot learn from mistakes.
Specialist legal advice
Several of the women contacted by the Trust have instructed solicitors to investigate their care. If their care fell below a reasonable standard and they suffered harm as a result, they may require financial support to provide for their care, to pay for treatment or to replace lost earnings.
Medical negligence claims can be very complex and it’s important to have solicitors with the right expertise managing a claim. If you have been advised that your care is part of the Derby and Burton review, or if you have any other concerns about your medical treatment, please contact us to find out how we can help.
