Doctors’ Blunders Lead to Untimely Death of Healthy Woman in the UK
An otherwise healthy woman, save for a kidney infection, died at the hands of two doctors in the United Kingdom in 2002, according to a hearing that took place last month. Their mistakes were described as “catastrophic blunders” by the Daily Mail Reporter online. When hiring doctors, nurses, or people for any profession, it is vitally important to check their background for criminal activity, unsafe practices, resume lies, and to verify their qualifications for that position.
The victim of the two doctors was being treated in surgery for removal of a kidney stone and the doctors missed the fact that she was actually suffering from a kidney infection. The General Medical Council was told by police that her death was completely avoidable and was due to the severe negligence of the physicians.
Several officials commented during a hearing that took place on January 11:
Dr. Hines “fully to appreciate the nature and extent of an infection resulting from an obstruction of the ureter and did not order further investigation or delay surgery in order to fully assess her clinical state. ‘Once the procedure was completed with unequivocal evidence of an infection, Hines did not ensure adequate antibiotic therapy or level of nursing to ensure continuous monitoring of her.”
Also explained about the other physician, Dr. Timmis: “When Timmis was eventually called to the hospital by Hines, he decided to transfer the patient…to the intensive therapy unit at Whipps Cross Hospital without effectively preparing her or sufficiently stabilizing her to ensure she could withstand the transfer. There was no adequate monitoring of the patient. The result of these serial failures was catastrophic.”
These types of gross negligence errors usually are not the first mistakes that doctors have made when something of this scale occurs. That’s why it is essential for hospitals and medical facilities to thoroughly conduct criminal background searches of each and every employee that cares for patients. This type of service will catch any resume lies, mistruths, and deviant tendencies.
Once the hearing was in full swing, the General Medical Council added the following points about the case and the shortcomings of the physicians:
· Dr. Hines admitted he should have recognized the kidney infection from the start.
· He also admitted failing to conduct a dip stick urine test to check for while blood cell count, an indicator of an infection being present.
· Dr. Hines recognized not ordering a repeat blood test that would have also confirmed the presence of an infection.
· He admitted to not going back to the hospital when a nurse paged him during the night before her surgery when the patient’s blood pressure was falling, her breathing was labored, and her pulse was increasing.
· He denied that surgery was a risky action to take considering the patient’s state at the time.
· He also denied that the patient should have been sent to Intensive Care for closer monitoring.
· Dr. Timmis, however, admitted to all of the charges, including not making sure that the patient was well enough to be transferred and that she was not properly monitored during the move in the ambulance.
Here in the United States, similar event have taken place where patients have died in the care of physicians they trusted with their lives. Don’t let one of your staff become the next killer; check for resume lies and do criminal background searches with AccuScreen today!
