I don't know how many other members have experience of suing a surgeon for medical negligence. My daughter had a gastric band fitted in a BUPA hospital. The surgeon did not visit her post-operatively and when she asked where he was she was told he had gone a course about gastric banding!
She was obviously very ill, with fever, rigours, great pain, and hallucinations. She was told for six days that she had a chest infection and she must have gone in with it. So why operate? She could not afford to stay in the private hospital and went to stay with her sister as she was too ill to look after herself. She went back to the BUPA hospital after a week to see a physio, who took one look at her and called a taxi to take her and her 14 year old daughter to the nearest NHS hospital. She was diagnosed with abscesses which they tried to drain for a week. The consultant who was shown on her records as being in charge of her case was the one who had done the operation. We found out later that he was successfully sued by a dozen women.
Three weeks after the original operation she began bleeding internally - unfortunately on a Friday evening. Junior doctors rushed around trying to get a line in and achieving nothing but giving her pain. Finally, a young woman anaesthetist (a Kiwi) came and immediately had her rushed to surgery. Her exact words were 'Where is the f*ucking surgeon?'
She was in surgery for three hours -I was told (cheerfully) that the outlook was very poor. After the surgery, I had to wait all night to see if her organs would fail. She was in intensive care for a week and in a general ward, without barrier nursing, for two more weeks. Her wound became infected - later a huge incisional hernia developed.
The surgeon who repaired her stomach was the one who had carried out the original surgery - he was nearing retirement and was obviously doing as much private work as he could. His report said he did not find any evidence that the band had not been properly fitted.
He finally admitted liability after 17 months and it took another six years for the Medical Defence Union to settle the case. The surgeon told numerous lies and the NHS hospital caused long delays in supplying records. These delays vastly worsened my daughter's medical and financial condition. We felt that there was a closing of ranks, as he was a consultant in that hospital.
We were finally informed by the GMC solicitor that he had asked for voluntary deregistration as he did not want his own medical condition made public (but I have been told by a retired GP that this is not possible).
The moral of this sad story is 1: do not assume that you will get better treatment in a private hospital and 2: be prepared for a long, hostile battle with the MDU.
Yes, I know most health professionals are dedicated, hard working and truthful, but Private Eye did a supplement about what happens to whistle-blowers and it made worrying reading.
