'My wife was told pain after surgery was trapped gas - weeks later she was dead'
A woman who died of sepsis three weeks after a routine medical procedure that was caused by sub-standard care was told she 'probably had trapped wind'.
Retired hairdresser Val Burkill, 73, underwent a procedure to remove gallstones on October 1, 2020 at Rotherham Hospital, South Yorkshire. Known as endoscopic retrograde cholangio-pancreatography (ERCP), a flexible tube with a camera on the end is used to help identify and diagnose issues with a person's bile ducts. The grandmother-of-seven's procedure only lasted eight minutes and she was discharged to her home in Bolton-upon-Dearne just an hour later. Yet despite complaining of stomach pain, no examination was carried out on her.
Later in the evening, Val's husband, Garry, 79, called the hospital and was told she probably had trapped wind. However, feeling in 'absolute agony,' Val started vomiting. Garry called an ambulance, which took her back to the hospital. She would never return home.
It wasn't until 15 days later – on October 16 – that Val was diagnosed with a perforated bowel. She developed sepsis and continued to deteriorate. She was transferred to hospice care and died on October 24.
Because of Covid-19 pandemic restrictions in force at the time, many of Val's family weren't even able to give her a proper goodbye. Following her death, devastated husband Garry commissioned medical negligence lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate her care.
Now, a review by Royal College of Physicians has found failures in the care of 58 patients at the hospital. A total of 25 patients 'suffered some degree of harm,' including seven who died, a Hospital Trust report said.
Retired builder Garry said: 'Seeing her as her life slipped away is something that will stay with us forever. We still had so many years together and I feel robbed that these were taken away from us.
'It breaks my heart to think how she needlessly suffered and the treatment she received from Rotherham Trust. Our family will never be the same without Val.
'We knew we owed it to her to get answers regarding her care but it was still devastating when the Trust admitted Val would have made a full recovery if she had received the correct care. This latest news is hard to accept. We knew there were issues with Val's care, but we never expected there to have been failings in the ERCP service on such a large scale.
'Not only has this news shocked us but it has brought back the horrible memories around what happened to Val and the pain and suffering she had to go through in her final weeks. It's hard not to think that if she had gone to another hospital for her ERCP, Val would still be alive.
'Our family continues to have concerns about whether everything is being done to ensure the safety of patients and this latest news just adds to that. Our hearts go out to the others who have been affected by failings in the ERCP service.'
Rotherham Hospital suspended its ERCP service on July 2021 after concerns were raised about the standard of care. A review carried out by the Royal College of Physicians has now been made public, more than two years after it was completed.
The review found that 68 out of 959 patients died or suffered complications within 30 days of an ERCP procedure at the hospital, with 58 attributed to a failure of care. The Trust said it was contacting all 68 patients or their families earlier this month to apologise and to 'outline what the external review has said about their individual care.'
The report found a range of care failures including inadequate recording of informed consent, deficiencies in reports and poor radiological documentation. A lack of discussion between medical experts and decision making were also of concern.
Tim Annett, a medical negligence lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, said: 'The scale and nature of the care failures identified raise serious questions about patient safety. That care concerns were identified four-year-ago and failings identified two-years-ago also raises serious questions about the Trust's transparency and clinical governance.
'While we welcome the Trust's decision to now contact affected patients and families, and its commitment to implementing the RCP's recommendations, it's vital that those impacted receive not only a full explanation but also appropriate support and redress. We urge the Trust to ensure transparency from now on and to work closely with patients, families, and legal representatives to rebuild trust and accountability.'
Dr Jo Beahan, medical director at the NHS trust, said: 'We apologise unreservedly to patients and their families affected by the failures identified in the ERCP service review. The care provided to some of the patients who underwent the procedure was not at the level that we strive for. ERCP is a specialist type of endoscopy undertaken to diagnose and treat problems in the liver, gallbladder, bile ducts, and pancreas. Less than 5% of endoscopies performed in the UK are ERCP.
'It carries well-recognised risks, and patients requiring an ERCP procedure may have complex underlying health conditions which are considered life limiting such as frailty or patients who have an underlying inoperable cancer. The Trust suspended the ERCP service in July 2021 when concerns were raised.
"Overall, we have reviewed over 950 ERCP procedures and the care of 68 patients has been reviewed by independent experts. The care provided to 58 of these patients was identified as not being provided to an acceptable standard, with 25 of these patients experiencing a level of harm.
"The Trust has contacted the patients or their relatives whose care has been independently reviewed, including those where no harm was found. We have apologised and explained the findings of the review. We will continue to support patients and families on an individual basis to ensure they have the opportunity to understand the care they or their relative received. We are aware that this may cause concern for other patients who have been treated at the Trust."
He added that anyone with concerns about their care in endoscopy can contact the Trust's Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) on your.experience@nhs.net or 01709 424461.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Herald Scotland
17 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Millions will lose health insurance under Trump tax bill
Another 5 million could lose coverage if Congress doesn't extend the COVID-19 pandemic-era tax credits that have made Affordable Care Act plans more affordable for consumers. The legislation amounts to "the biggest rollback in health care coverage in the history of the United States," said Joan Alker, a research professor and executive director and co-founder of Georgetown University's Center for Children and Families. Vice President JD Vance, who cast the tiebreaking vote July 1 to pass the Senate bill 51-50, said in social media posts the Medicaid cuts are "immaterial" compared to savings the bill will fund through bolstered immigration enforcement. The House is scheduled to consider the legislation on July 2 in advance of Trump's self-imposed July 4th deadline for his signature domestic policy legislation. How will the legislation cut Medicaid? The legislation would require states to double eligibility checks to twice a year. And states, which administer Medicaid, would have to set up systems to verify a person's employment or exemption status. The legislation requires "able-bodied" Medicaid recipients to work 80 hours a month or qualify for an exemption, such as being a student, caregiver or having a disability. The original House version limited the work requirement to low-income adults without children, but the Senate version added the work requirement to parents of children older than 13. The legislation defines "able-bodied" people as those not medically certified as physically or mentally unfit for employment. The legislation also would strip coverage from undocumented immigrants who get Medicaid through state-funded programs. Health policy experts say more frequent eligibility checks and red tape will add administrative costs and cut off people who qualify but fall through the cracks because of administrative miscues. What do hospitals and doctors think of bill? Medicaid insures 83 million low-income children and adults, according to KFF, a health policy nonprofit. That represents more than 1 in 5 Americans. Health policy experts have warned the cuts could harm rural hospitals and doctors who serve a higher percentage of people enrolled in Medicaid. The Senate bill added a $50 billion rural health care fund, double the amount that an earlier version of the legislation proposed. Still, hospitals are "deeply disappointed" the bill cleared the Senate, said Rick Pollack, president and CEO of the American Hospital Association, a trade group. Pollack said the $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts would cause "irreparable harm to our health care system," and reduce access to care for all Americans. Hospitals are required to diagnose and stabilize anyone who visits an emergency room. Eliminating coverage of nearly 12 million Americans will "drive up uncompensated care for hospitals and health systems," Pollack said. Pollack said hospitals might be forced to cut services and staff, and patients could face longer wait times in emergency rooms. Some rural hospitals and facilities in underserved communities could close, Pollack said. Dr. Richard Besser, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, said the cuts to Medicaid and a federal food assistance program "will make our country sicker, put children at risk of going hungry and make it harder for families to afford basic necessities" while delivering tax cuts. When will the Medicaid cuts take effect? Medicaid recipients won't immediately be impacted by the legislation. The bill sets a Jan. 1, 2027, deadline for states to begin twice-a-year eligibility checks and verify work or exemption status of non-disabled enrollees. However, some states already have submitted waivers to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to begin Medicaid work requirements. CMS might choose to approve the waivers and allow some states to launch Medicaid work requirements before January 2027, Alker said. A KFF survey found nearly 2 in 3 people on Medicaid are employed full or part time, and others would qualify for an exemption from the work requirement because they are caregivers or students. Just 8% were not working due to inability to find work, retirement or other reasons, KFF said. While the bill doesn't mandate work requirements before January 2027, states will likely need to plan for big changes before then, said Jennifer Tolbert, deputy director of the KFF program on Medicaid and the uninsured. States will need to prepare for smaller Medicaid payments from the federal government while adding the extra administrative duties of verifying an enrollee's work or volunteer status. "Some states are anticipating this reduced revenue," Tolbert said. "At the same time, they are also required to make pretty costly changes to their eligibility systems." 'Death by a trillion cuts': Health care workers lobby Republicans in Congress Johannah Alabi's days usually consist of feeding, bathing, and caring for residents at two nursing homes in Bloomfield, Conn. She said most of her patients depend on government health insurance programs, so she is concerned about what will happen to them and her job if Trump signs the bill into law. Medicaid is the primary payer for 63% of nursing home facility residents and an additional 13% rely on Medicare as their primary payer, according to KFF, a health policy nonprofit headquartered in San Francisco. "If some of that money is going to be taken away, something has to give," Alabi said. "It's going to come down to the resident care. It's going to come down to the food. It's going to come down to the activities." That's why she was inspired to join Service Employees International Union members to lobby lawmakers to vote against the bill last week. They arrived at the Capitol with signs reading, "Death by a trillion cuts," and wearing shirts with the message, "Republican cuts kill." Jennifer Woods, another SEIU member who works in the claims department at Kaiser Permanente, ran into Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, during her trip to Washington. She said she tried to explain how cuts could "ruin people's lives" and potentially lead to some patients' deaths as she followed him through the Capitol building. "He just shook his head and would keep going," Woods said. "He didn't really say anything. None of them did."
North Wales Chronicle
3 hours ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Record number of NHS operations given in private hospitals
Data from the Independent Healthcare Providers Network (IHPN) show that private hospitals delivered the equivalent of 2,859 NHS procedures every working day in April – an increase of over 60% compared to the same month in 2019. It said that almost one in five NHS operations in England are carried out in private hospitals and clinics. Overall, the independent sector is delivering 10% of all NHS planned care, up from 8% before the Covid-19 pandemic, the IHPN said. The IHPN also said that the number of referrals it had received has also reached a record high – with private providers receiving 7,162 referrals each working day in April. Official NHS data show that the waiting list for routine hospital treatment in England has fallen to its lowest level for two years. An estimated 7.39 million treatments were waiting to be carried out at the end of April, relating to 6.23 million patients – down from 7.42 million treatments and 6.25 million patients at the end of March. The Government has set out plans to send more patients for treatment in private hospitals to slash waiting lists. David Hare, chief executive of the IHPN, said: 'This latest data shows the independent sector's increasingly pivotal role in delivering frontline NHS care – delivering record levels of NHS care which will be instrumental in helping the Government to meet their key milestone to ensure 92% of patients are treated within 18 weeks by the end of this Parliament. 'While this is a clear sign of welcome progress in tackling NHS waiting lists, the sector is committed to building on this already impressive achievement and will be working with the Government to ensure the principles contained in the recent NHS and Independent Sector Partnership Agreement are fully embedded – enabling patients to have a greater choice over their care so they can get the treatment they need, when they need it.'
Leader Live
3 hours ago
- Leader Live
Record number of NHS operations given in private hospitals
Data from the Independent Healthcare Providers Network (IHPN) show that private hospitals delivered the equivalent of 2,859 NHS procedures every working day in April – an increase of over 60% compared to the same month in 2019. It said that almost one in five NHS operations in England are carried out in private hospitals and clinics. Overall, the independent sector is delivering 10% of all NHS planned care, up from 8% before the Covid-19 pandemic, the IHPN said. The IHPN also said that the number of referrals it had received has also reached a record high – with private providers receiving 7,162 referrals each working day in April. Official NHS data show that the waiting list for routine hospital treatment in England has fallen to its lowest level for two years. An estimated 7.39 million treatments were waiting to be carried out at the end of April, relating to 6.23 million patients – down from 7.42 million treatments and 6.25 million patients at the end of March. The Government has set out plans to send more patients for treatment in private hospitals to slash waiting lists. David Hare, chief executive of the IHPN, said: 'This latest data shows the independent sector's increasingly pivotal role in delivering frontline NHS care – delivering record levels of NHS care which will be instrumental in helping the Government to meet their key milestone to ensure 92% of patients are treated within 18 weeks by the end of this Parliament. 'While this is a clear sign of welcome progress in tackling NHS waiting lists, the sector is committed to building on this already impressive achievement and will be working with the Government to ensure the principles contained in the recent NHS and Independent Sector Partnership Agreement are fully embedded – enabling patients to have a greater choice over their care so they can get the treatment they need, when they need it.'
