They should all be clapped ... in irons:
Devastatingly, Gareth and his wife Emma learned for the first time at an inquest last week that the 11-month-old should not even have been given the drug that killed her.
Former soldier Gareth sobbed as a coroner ruled that 'neglect' and a 'gross failure of basic medical care' by doctors and nurses at St Peter's Hospital in Chertsey, Surrey, had led to their daughter being wrongly injected with five times the recommended dose of a powerful anti-seizure medicine.
Dr Karen Henderson, assistant coroner for Surrey, said Sophie had not required phenytoin because the seizures had stopped 90 minutes earlier.
I would say it's beyond belief, but in truth, it's really only yet another case where the 'we know best!' NHS staff have utterly failed at every step of the way.
The verdict, however painful, is at least vindication for Sophie's parents after a four-and-a-half-year battle for justice.
And as usual, have compounded that by a catalogues of lies, half-truths and the usual cover up...
After Sophie's death, police opened an investigation into the medics and the hospital but it was soon shelved. Now the couple are calling for a fresh investigation following the outcome of Sophie's inquest.
They are angry that Dr Lojein Hatahet, the trainee doctor who injected the drug, was not questioned during the first probe and frustrated that Dr Fiona MacCarthy, the paediatric consultant who prescribed the phenytoin, was questioned by detectives as a witness but no further action was taken.
Imagine my shocked face.
In her verdict, Dr Henderson found deputy ward sister Sharron Younes, who still works for the hospital, and nurse Polly Leavold, who has since emigrated to Australia, were 'jointly responsible' for miscalculating the amount of phenytoin in the syringe.And the police that every year demand more wasted taxpayer money to go golfing in Portugal will no doubt now say 'Sorry, nothing we can do..'.
The medical councils that supposedly govern the behaviour of these medical 'professionals' will do nothing, as they always do.
They have, after all, already got away with the cruellest act of all:
'I felt like all of a sudden we were under suspicion. It was very upsetting for us, but I thought they must be covering all bases and assumed they were doing the same at the hospital, the ambulance, the GP surgery and everywhere else Sophie had been that day.
'It was only later that I found out the police had not done this anywhere else – just at our home.' Emma, who works in marketing, suspects that someone at the hospital pointed the finger of blame at them.
At what point do the people of the UK come to their senses about this 'service'?
I fear it'll be 'never'...
6 comments:
I've repeatedly said there is absolutely nothing the NHS could do that would result in it being swept away on a tide of public revulsion at its behaviour. It literally kills (as in murders) its patients and still the public lap it up. Or appear to, I'm never quite sure how deep the 'love' for the NHS runs - I know of no-one who has a good word to say for it, and plenty who have received appalling treatment (or no treatment at all) from it.
Anyone who has spent any time in an NHS hospital, be it as a patient, friend or relative, will recognise the behaviour patterns detailed in this sad tale. Not necessarily with a tragic result but with the same reliance on pure blind luck to avoid that sorry outcome. Duplicitous, sly, arrogant and incompetent rather than angelic is worryingly common.
I think it's worth emphasising that Nurse Leavold does seem to have made some attempt to prevent the actions of the doctor.
Just stay away from them unless you absolutely can't avoid it.
Part of the problem is that it isn't universally bad. So, for every horror story there is someone who had received a decent service. People are also terrified of the idea of being chronically ill and losing all of their money because of it. They seem to be unaware that there are other countries out there that have better systems. Our two cats have health insurance and we get an excellent service from our vet. If we didn't we could go to a different vet.
I tell anyone i meet who's moaning about the terrible service they receive from the nhs to stand on their doorstep clapping while proclaiming "envy of the world" Personally I'm fed up with the shit service from the nhs in general and the fact that a lot of consultants and staff have taken the opportunity to bunk off because of Covid. Still waiting after 2 1/2 months for a consultant to reply to my GP's letter with a yes/no answer.
When the 'mistake' was first noticed by the hospital, was anyone sacked, or disciplined? Did the head of the department, or the senior manager of the hospital, resign at this level of negligence they were ultimately responsible for? Instead, they spent four and a half years claiming they did nothing wrong and, apparently, even suggested the parents were at fault. This is a disgraceful event in which everyone involved should be prosecuted. As blame and responsibility is like water, find the lowest possible level, perhaps the nurse who emigrated to Australia did so to avoid being made a scapegoat? No one must get in the way of senior management getting their knighthood. The hospital trust will, of course shell out thousands of Pounds to the parents in compensation, and then ask the government for more (of taxpayers) money as they are short of funds.
Penseivat
"I've repeatedly said there is absolutely nothing the NHS could do that would result in it being swept away on a tide of public revulsion at its behaviour. "
Once, we would have said that about Auntie Beeb. All it takes is an alternative... 😉
"Duplicitous, sly, arrogant and incompetent rather than angelic is worryingly common"
That's been my unhappy experience too.
"Part of the problem is that it isn't universally bad."
That's true, and if you're fortunate enough to live in an area like that, good luck to you. But the taxation is universal, isn't it?
"...and the fact that a lot of consultants and staff have taken the opportunity to bunk off because of Covid."
My elderly mum's dermatology appointment was cancelled in May. We're still waiting for some sign they'll remember to re-schedule. In vain.
"This is a disgraceful event in which everyone involved should be prosecuted. "
And will never be. Which is why it keeps happening.
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