Case of note: Anna Callaghan v. South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (High Court, 19 May 2023 – Ellenbogen J.)
Introduction This case involved the death of a week-old baby, following initial discharge from hospital, from Group B Streptococcus bacterial meningitis and septicaemia. Allegations centred on the midwifery care. The judgment is lengthy, amounting to 131 paragraphs and 53 pages, so this report is necessarily …
NHS Resolution Conference: ‘Implementing recommendations: shared insights to reduce claims in emergency medicine’
Thank you to everyone that attended our face-to-face national emergency medicine conference on Monday 9 October 2023, Implementing recommendations: shared insights to reduce claims in emergency medicine. The conference followed our highly successful maternity conference last year. We were delighted to be joined by 150 …
Case of note: McCulloch (deceased) v. Forth Valley Health Board (Supreme Court – 12 July 2023)
Introduction This is an important ruling on consent to medical treatment by the Supreme Court, which clarifies an aspect of their landmark ruling in Montgomery v. Lanarkshire Health Board in 2015. Details Mr. McCulloch was admitted to hospital with severe chest pains on 23 March …
Early Notification scheme: new role and updated reporting form
Since April 1, 2022, our Early Notification (EN) scheme team has initiated direct communication with families, and they have recently appointed a Family Liaison Officer to ensure consistent contact once a case is accepted onto the EN scheme. Trusts will retain their duty of candour …
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Case of note: JM v. University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust (Bournemouth County Court 30 September 2022 – Judge Walsh)
Introduction This case involved the consent process for gynaecological surgery. The claimant alleged she had been given insufficient options, as a result of which she chose total laparoscopic hysterectomy with bilateral removal of her ovaries, whereas had she been given greater choice she would not …
Case of note: KC v. Dr. Edward Gaynor (High Court, 20 April 2023 – Judge Howells)
Introduction This claim arose from a consultation with the defendant general practitioner on 29 December 2016, at which Dr. Gaynor diagnosed a haematoma of the right groin. In fact, the patient had an abscess which, a few days later, progressed to necrotising fasciitis necessitating amputation …
Learning from medication errors
Medication errors are any Patient Safety Incidents (PSI) where there has been an error in the process of prescribing, preparing, dispensing, and administering, monitoring or providing advice on medicines. Medication errors can occur at many steps in patient care, from ordering the medication to the time …
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Learning from venous thromboembolisms
From 1 April 2012 until 31 March 2022 we documented 687 closed claims relating to venous thromboembolism (VTE) injuries. Of these, 411 claims were settled with damages paid costing the NHS over £23 million. VTE is an umbrella term for deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary …
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