Hereford hospital diagnosis blunder
A Hereford hospital has been involved in a huge diagnosis blunder, causing distress and heartache for many patients.
The mix up included 17 patients, whose samples were tested at Hereford County Hospital, being told they were clear of cancer, when they still had the disease. Another 14 were confirmed to have the disease when in fact they didn’t. Some of these patients were given unnecessary treatment.
The samples came from 4,654 patients between May 2006 and August 2007 and were retested in January after concerns had been expressed by hospital staff. A consultant has been suspended pending disciplinary procedures
For one Ludlow based firm, this kind of mistake is only too familiar. Lanyon Bowdler Solicitors have dealt with many similar cases of misdiagnosis in the past.
In recent years the firm represented a Shropshire man, whose young wife died after a routine smear test was sent to Kent and Canterbury Hospital and they failed to diagnose her cancer. Wayne Price, from Ellesmere near Shrewsbury, was awarded £375,000 in compensation and was given a formal apology from East Kent Health Authority. Kent and Canterbury Hospital was at the centre of Britain's biggest cervical screening scandal, which led to 91,000 smears taken between 1990 and 1995 being rechecked. An inquiry blamed poor management and said that nine women had died and 30 more had undergone hysterectomies because early signs of cancer were missed.
Paula Nash, the head of Lanyon Bowdler’s Clinical Negligence team, has regularly obtained large awards of compensation on behalf of victims of medical accidents. She said,
“We will all receive medical treatment during our lifetime. Thankfully, the vast majority of the time, such treatment is provided to a high standard. Some people, however, have the misfortune to become the victim of a medical accident. Things can and do go wrong. Recovering sums of money might never properly compensate for the harm suffered but bringing these cases to light helps ensure continual improvements in medical standards. It also replaces lost income and pays for care and medical treatment. “