Susan George
Written in memory of ‘Teddy Bear mum, Beryl’. Beryl Walters 1931-1998
In June 1998, Beryl, my mum went into a Leicester hospital for an esophagectomy. She had cancer of the esophagus (food tube). The surgeon did not tell us as he convinced her to have this operation keyhole that he had not done this operation before and that in fact it was not done in England. He falsely stated that it was a safer and quicker alternative. The whole consent procedure took 5 minutes. Following a ten hour operation the next day, his Senior House Officer informed us that the Surgeon had cut the trachea (breathing pipe) by mistake, however someone had attended from the adjoining theatre and had repaired it. The operation had then proceeded as an open esophagectomy. After 25 days on a ventilator, a spinal infarct was discovered and we were told that mum would continue life in a wheel chair as a quadriplegic with a box to help her breathe. Also during the 25 days a fistula (small hole between the breathing tube and stomach tube) had been suspected. Every time that the support given by the ventilator was lowered, mum frantically struggled to breathe, it was horrendous. No action was taken to address the problem of the contents of the stomach going into the lungs and mum died on day 28. 12 o’ clock, 21st July 1998 (all facts can be verified with Ombudsman’s report).
It has taken ten years to arrive at a point where the surgeon is to go to a GMC Hearing. No evidence was supplied willingly by the hospital and I have made thousands of Freedom of Information requests, telephone calls, letters and statements consequently I have been forced to relive the death over and over to fight to get to this Hearing.
The GMC Hearing on 8th October this year (2008) will probably not proceed, the surgeon will argue that under the Human Rights Act he will not get a fair trial because of the time that has elapsed. It was the system that delayed, and theoretically this means that if the hospital dilly-dallies with a complaint… ALL staff will be able to argue this point of no fair trial and no member of staff could ever go in front of a Hearing. This surgeon has been involved in two other major litigation cases both being for his attempts at keyhole surgery. (That I know of, there could possibly be more) This surgeon is still operating although he has been stopped doing the procedure he attempted on Mum.
Every day of the past ten years I have worked on this case, I have done something each day in working towards this point, and stop this surgeon hurting anyone else. Because of and through this case, I have become involved with many other patients who have suffered as a result of bad practise.
Every day in a coffee bar somewhere in England someone is complaining about something that happened to them or someone they know whilst in an NHS hospital. It seems to me that unless people stop complaining to each other and start taking positive steps to change things, then nothing will change. This is why I became a Patient Safety Champion.
Because I didn’t get answers I have been forced to take a law degree, writing 35 paged legal responses to Barristers; read and learn to understand medical terminology; Re- read thousands of times mums medical notes which tore my heart out, systematically looking up each medical term in the dictionary. It must be said that, in this country one in four people cannot read or write. What chance do these people stand when embroiled in an NHS complaints system? This is why I became a Patient Safety Champion.
Mum’s death and our experiences with the complaints system in modern Britain cannot go forgotten and lessons must be learned. In honour of my dear sweet mum I became a Patient Safety Champion.