A private hospital put a patient’s life at risk with “significant shortcomings” in care when he suffered a heart seizure on the operating table.
The case emerged today as one of a series of NHS blunders highlighted by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman as its investigations went online for the first time.
The man, who was admitted to BMI’s London Independent Hospital in Stepney, believed he had suffered a cardiac arrest after being anaesthetised for surgery.
He recovered after being given cardiac compressions and drugs but feared future surgery.
The unnamed man received £500 compensation after the investigation was completed in March.
Today’s report said: “It was clear that the actions taken by the consultant anaesthetist to treat [the patient] when he became unwell in theatre were inappropriate. This put [his] life at risk and left him with some short-term pain and discomfort. When [he] complained, the hospital failed to give him complete and fair explanations of what happened or an apology.” Other cases highlighted in the report included:
A woman whose severe back pain was not diagnosed as a heart attack by A&E staff at the now defunct South London Healthcare Trust and who was sent home with painkillers.
A man at Croydon hospital A&E with an eye infection was left for six hours in a cubicle without food and drink. Staff were “rude and unhelpful”.
A woman who died after three GPs failed to recognise that she was suffering from deep-vein thrombosis in her left leg. The practice has not been named.
The ombudsman investigated 2,199 cases last year — six times more than the previous year. Some 1,778 related to the NHS. Ombudsman Dame Julie Mellor said: “Our investigations highlight the devastating impact that failures in public services can have.”
A spokesman for BMI Healthcare said: “We always cooperate with the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman and take appropriate action in light of its findings.”
