BLOG: Rachel Donovan

By Ben Schofield on Mar 5, 10 10:47 AM

IT WOULD seem that we are hearing on a daily basis worrying information about the standard of our hospital care.

Only recently did we read about the Health Chief's enquiry into the trauma surgeon, Toby Branfoot, who worked at Leeds Teaching Hospital NHS Trust as a consultant trauma and orthopaedic surgeon.

Bosses at Leeds Teaching Hospital NHS Trust have ordered a review of treatment by the cdonsultant trauma surgeon and the Trust is already facing legal action from one of his patients who suffered catastrophic complications and had his lower left leg amputated six months after he underwent major reconstruction surgery.

Concerns have also been raised about Mr George Rowlands, consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at the Liverpool Women's Hospital NHS Trust.

Hundreds of female patients were being recalled by Liverpool Women's Hospital after there had been a review of the practice of Mr George Rowlands, a consultant within the Trust.

The patients in question underwent surgery conducted by Mr Rowlands between 2001 and 2008 for specific problems such as urinary incontinence and vaginal prolapse.

Not only are we hearing about individual doctors such as Mr George Rowlands and Dr Toby Branfoot but we are reading about investigations into hospital Trusts such as Mid- Staffordshire NHS Trust and Tameside NHS Trust.

In both of these Trusts, the death rate has been higher than expected and at Mid Staffs Hospital, the Healthcare Commission said in 2009 that between 400 and 1,200 deaths than expected were recorded over three years.

It was worrying to note that staff who tried to blow the whistle on poor care were not listened to and others felt reporting errors were discouraged and some deaths were not recorded.

The concern of under-reporting has been highlighted by the Public Accounts Committee who have confirmed that there is under-reporting of medical negligence issues/incidents, meaning the true figure might be higher.

Unfortunately, nowadays, medical negligence issues are not all that uncommon and the Department of Health figures indicate that one-in-ten patients admitted to an NHS Hospital is unintentionally harmed.

For it to come out and to be acknowledged by the Public Accounts Committee that there is undoubtedly under-reporting taking place where unintentional injuries to patients are confirmed is very worrying. Collecting that information has to be a priority in order to establish how far reaching an issue this is and only when the full extent of the problem is known can it be properly tackled.

Lessons need to be learnt from the inquiry of Mid-Staffordshire NHS Trust so that when people go into hospital for medical treatment, they are confident that they will receive the standard they deserve.

If you wish to discuss any aspect of the above then please do not hesitate to contact our medical negligence solicitor Rachel Donovan on 0151 227 1214, e-mail: don@johnpickering.co.uk.

* Rachel is head of clinical negligence at John Pickering and Partners