Compensation for woman who was sent to the wrong hospital and left paralysed after stroke
- 13.11.2015
- HannahBottomley
- Clinical-negligence, Opinion, Clinical-negligence, Opinion, Clinical-negligence, Opinion, Clinical-negligence, Opinion
I read the recent MEN article about Lynne Horner with a mixture of emotions.
I was of course thrilled that Mrs Horner has been awarded sufficient compensation to enable her to fund the care and support she now requires following her neurological injury but was also saddened to read to circumstances which have left Mrs Horner requiring such care.
Here in the North West we are fortunate enough to have a recognised trauma centre of excellence, Salford Royal Hospital, which may people in the area will still refer to as Hope Hospital.
Having such a specialist centre should mean that those who require urgent specialist care are able to receive it when needed. However, as shown in Mrs Horner’s case, this is sometimes dependent on others understanding and assessing the position correctly.
I sometimes find that when things go wrong for patients the focus can be on the current hospital, however, it is important to remember that all those involved in the provision of medical care have a role to play to ensure that care and treatment are provided to the appropriate standard.
I was pleased to read that the North West Ambulance Service Trust have apologised for the failures that occurred that day back in 2010 and have admitted that the care provided to Mrs Horner fell below the standard which she was entitled to expect.
I hope that lessons can be learnt from this case and that appropriate training is in place to ensure that such a tragic set of circumstances does not happen again and those who require specialist care are able to assess it when needed.