Boyes Turner’s medical negligence solicitors secured a £62,500 compensation settlement from a private hospital after post-operative errors led to our client suffering peritonitis, additional surgery and extensive scarring from wound dehiscence. Patient chose private hospital care owing to NHS waiting list for gynaecological procedure Our client was receiving fertility treatment at an NHS hospital and was awaiting her second round of IVF. After ultrasound and MRI scans revealed that she had fibroids in her uterus, her consultant gynaecologist advised her that her fertility might be helped by having the fibroids surgically removed via laparoscopic (keyhole) myomectomy. There was a long NHS waiting list for the procedure, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, so she opted to have the surgery performed by the same gynaecologist who had been treating her on the NHS, but as his private patient at a private hospital. After various pre-admission assessments, she attended the private hospital and signed a consent form before undergoing the laparoscopic myomectomy procedure. Patient discharged after post-operative elevated NEWS score After recovering from the anaesthetic after the operation, our client felt hot and sweaty. She was kept awake by pain, and was given liquid morphine. The next morning, she was seen by the anaesthetist who told her that there had been technical difficulties which led to the operation being converted from a laparoscopy (keyhole surgery) to a mini-laparotomy. During the morning she developed pains around her shoulder and felt faint when trying to mobilise. She had a brief telephone call with the gynaecologist who told her the operation had been a success. Two fibroids had been removed, one of which was bigger than expected, leading to the need for the mini-laparotomy. She was advised to remain in hospital for a further night. She needed anti-emetics to treat her nausea, and struggled to breathe whilst lying down. She told a doctor about her pain and he advised her to mobilise. She tried to eat and drink but vomited overnight. The next morning, her NEWS score became elevated. This is a test that is designed to check for early signs of infection. The elevated score should have led to 4 to 6 hourly observations by a registered nurse, who should also have escalated her care if her condition was deteriorating. Instead, she was discharged home, without any further observations. At home she remained unwell with hot and cold temperatures, ongoing pain, breathlessness and vomiting. NHS hospital treatment for peritonitis The next morning her husband called the private hospital for advice and was told to take her to an NHS hospital. At A&E she was noted to have shortness of breath and blue lips. She was admitted under the medical team. By the next day she had developed chest tightness, elevated signs of inflammation, a high temperature, abnormally fast heart rate and lower abdominal discomfort. A CT scan revealed a large pelvic collection suggesting peritonitis, possibly from a bowel injury (during surgery). She needed a diagnostic laparoscopy, laparotomy and washout of the pelvic collection, and flexible sigmoidoscopy. A large infection collection was noted but no bowel perforation was found. She was discharged home a few days later but needed further treatment from the surgical team over the next few weeks owing to the dehiscence (re-opening) of her laparotomy wound. With repeated packing over a few weeks, her wound eventually healed, but she was left with extensive unsightly scarring. Delays in restarting fertility treatment Our client suffered significant stress whilst waiting for many months until she had recovered enough to restart her NHS hospital IVF treatment. She was aware that her fertility difficulties meant that her prospects of achieving a successful pregnancy would diminish over time. She had opted to have the fibroid removal surgery privately to avoid delays in starting her second round of IVF treatment which could result in her losing her opportunity to have a family and limiting her options to adoption or surrogacy. Fortunately, despite the delay from the post-operative complications, her IVF treatment was successful and she gave birth (via caesarean section) to a healthy baby. Private hospital’s own investigation criticises the patient’s post-operative care The private hospital investigated our client’s treatment and were critical of her post-operative care. They criticised the decision to discharge our client from hospital and failure to escalate her for observations and increased monitoring of her deteriorating condition following the elevated NEWS score. Medical negligence claim leads to pre-action settlement In claims relating to NHS hospital care, the NHS trust is vicariously liable for the negligence of all its clinicians, administrative staff and systems. However, where a claim relates to surgery performed in a private hospital, the surgeon often remains personally liable for their own negligence, but the hospital is responsible for the negligence of its employed staff, such as its nurses. In this case, our client’s injury was caused by a perforation (by the surgeon) but her peritonitis, laparotomy and scarring would have been avoided if the hospital’s nursing staff had provided correct post-operative care. We advised our client to pursue the claim against the private hospital, arising from their failure to follow their own protocol and to keep our client in hospital for observation when her elevated NEWS score suggested signs of possible post-operative infection, instead of allowing her to go home. If she had remained in hospital, with correct care, her bowel injury and post-operative infection would have been recognised sooner. She would have been transferred to a local NHS hospital and successfully treated with intravenous antibiotics, laparoscopic surgery and washout. She would have avoided the peritonitis, the laparotomy and subsequent wound breakdown and her extensive scarring. We served a letter of claim on the company that managed the private hospital, arising from their staff’s negligent management of our client’s post-operative complications following her myomectomy (surgical removal of uterine fibroids). They responded by inviting us to enter into settlement discussions, resulting in a £62,000 settlement for our client. If you or a family member have suffered severe injury as a result of medical negligence or have been contacted by HSSIB/MNSI or NHS Resolution you can talk to a solicitor, free and confidentially, for advice about how to respond or make a claim by contacting us.
