Patient Receives Incorrect Prosthetic From Troubled Hospital
A hospital that has previously come under fire for serious mistakes is once again making the headlines, after a patient received an incorrect Prosthetic prosthetic implant during surgery.
Shropshire NHS bosses found that a small implant was inserted into a patient at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt (RJAH) hospital in May, rather than the correct medium-sized one. This is now the third ‘never event’ to take place at the specialist orthopaedic hospital. Whilst the trust is investigating, they have said that no immediate action was required.
What is defined as a ‘never event’?
According to the definition from the NHS, ‘never events’ are serious incidents that are entirely preventable because guidance or safety recommendations providing strong systemic protective barriers are available at a national level and should have been implemented by all healthcare providers. These events should therefore never take place.
In July, the RJAH hospital was placed under investigation after two patients were mistakenly injected in the incorrect side of their bodies. Minutes from the director’s meeting suggested that the patients were ‘fine’ and ‘immediate remedial actions’ were taken. This latest ‘never event’ has been reported to the Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) governing body in September, the Local Democracy Reporting Servcie said, and will be discussed in a meeting on Wednesday. ‘There was one never event reported by the rust during September,’ the CCG report stated, ‘There was a surgical error whereby a small prosthesis was implanted instead of a medium-sized one.’ RJAH has not specified the type of operation or the function of the implant – it’s latest report said that ‘no further immediate actions were required’ following a review of the surgery.
Claiming compensation from the NHS
In situations like this, it can seem daunting to think about claiming compensation from the NHS. However, there are a number of scenarios in which the NHS has been successfully sued. When we go to a GP appointment, visit the hospital or an NHS Trust, we put our faith in the medical health professionals who have been specially trained. Unfortunately, errors can happen for a range of different reasons. It could be that the surgeons who are working are understaffed or overworked, leaving them prone to mistakes. Despite factors like this, compensation should always be claimed for avoidable mistakes. Specially trained solicitors will be able to help you throughout your medical negligence claim if you have been a victim of a situation similar to this one. The compensation that you receive to help you recover from the mistake could be invaluable to your life. There is not a set time scale for how long a medical negligence claim could take, but it is worth keeping in mind that there are time limits for how long after a particular incident has occurred that you can put in a claim. While you may be dealing with the physical repercussions of medical negligence, you should therefore get in touch with a legal professional as soon as possible.
Read more on our NHS negligence claims page
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