Health reporter(wp/es):
A pensioner who has spent eight years in hospital because of blunders in his care while recovering from a spinal injury has received a £475,000 compensation payout.
The 70-year-old man was taken to The Royal London Hospital by ambulance after his fall in October 2010, and was unable to feel anything below his chest. As well as spinal damage, he had fractures in his left leg, hip, and ribs, and his left lung had collapsed. Within 10 days of being hospitalised he developed pressure sores over his body due to his very limited ability to move independently.
The sores had not properly healed when he was moved in March 2011 to a spinal care unit at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, and he then developed more pressure ulcers. Lawyers Bolt Burdon Kemp launched a compensation claim in 2015 against the two hospitals, alleging that failures in his care allowed the sores to develop and never fully heal, and hinder his rehabilitation.
Raquel Siganporia, who leads the spinal injury team at the law firm, described the case as “beyond appalling”, saying that without complications the man should have spent only three months in a hospital bed. Instead he remains under NHS care. “This case is one of the most severe I have seen in relation to pressure sores,” she said. “It is shocking how a seemingly innocuous sore can have such devastating consequences on someone with a spinal cord injury when left without proper treatment and care.
“My client ended up remaining in hospital for eight years as a direct result of the escalation in his condition, which was solely down to the pressure sores.” Both hospitals have now admitted negligence in failing to offer proper pressure sore care management, and a High Court judge approved £475,000 in compensation for the man’s future care.
A pensioner who has spent eight years in hospital because of blunders in his care while recovering from a spinal injury has received a £475,000 compensation payout.
The 70-year-old man was taken to The Royal London Hospital by ambulance after his fall in October 2010, and was unable to feel anything below his chest. As well as spinal damage, he had fractures in his left leg, hip, and ribs, and his left lung had collapsed. Within 10 days of being hospitalised he developed pressure sores over his body due to his very limited ability to move independently.
The sores had not properly healed when he was moved in March 2011 to a spinal care unit at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, and he then developed more pressure ulcers. Lawyers Bolt Burdon Kemp launched a compensation claim in 2015 against the two hospitals, alleging that failures in his care allowed the sores to develop and never fully heal, and hinder his rehabilitation.
Raquel Siganporia, who leads the spinal injury team at the law firm, described the case as “beyond appalling”, saying that without complications the man should have spent only three months in a hospital bed. Instead he remains under NHS care. “This case is one of the most severe I have seen in relation to pressure sores,” she said. “It is shocking how a seemingly innocuous sore can have such devastating consequences on someone with a spinal cord injury when left without proper treatment and care.
“My client ended up remaining in hospital for eight years as a direct result of the escalation in his condition, which was solely down to the pressure sores.” Both hospitals have now admitted negligence in failing to offer proper pressure sore care management, and a High Court judge approved £475,000 in compensation for the man’s future care.
The claim stated that The Royal London failed to properly assess the pensioner’s needs after his accident, or recognise he was at high risk of pressure sores. He was not given proper pressure relief, skin inspections, hygiene care, or dressings while in hospital, and was not referred to a consultant plastic surgeon when the “need was obvious” on his transfer to Stoke Mandeville.
The court was told the man had to undergo several surgical procedures and now needs specialist equipment to help him breathe. “Adapting to a spinal cord injury is already a life-changing event, without the addition of negligent treatment leading to a far worse set of conditions to contend with — conditions which my client ought never have had to face,” said Ms Siganporia.
“Hospitals which treat spinal-injured patients need to improve the training they have about why pressure sores should be prevented, how to aid prevention, and the need for close monitoring and extreme vigilance. That two hospitals failed my client so badly is beyond appalling and I hope to see improvements in this field immediately.”
The case was concluded last month. A joint statement from Barts Health NHS trust and Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS trust, which run the two hospitals, said: “We sincerely apologise that our treatment fell below the standard our patients rightly expect and we recognise the significant effect this has had on this particular patient.
“Preventing and treating pressure ulcers is one of the NHS’s most important safety priorities. In recent years we’ve taken a range of actions including enhancing training for staff.”
No comments:
Post a Comment