Man dies after waiting almost a year for heart surgery
- Mar 16, 2016
- EmmaArnold
A man with heart disease died after waiting almost a year for heart surgery.
An ombudsman found that, had Mr Jones received treatment earlier, it would have saved his life.
Gareth Lewis Jones had adult congenital heart disease (ACHD) and waited twice the recommended time for surgery.
The health board also failed to warn Mr Jones of his symptoms and deterioration to watch out for so sadly died shortly before his operation was due.
If he and his family were warned of the symptoms then they would have been alerted to the fact he needed urgent medical treatment the days before his death.
Lesley Herbertson, Senior solicitor in the clinical negligence department at PotterReesDolan, said:
This is a very sad case of a man losing his life just because the waiting time for appropriate treatment was too long. Mr Jones had a known heart condition for which curative surgery was available and such surgery, if performed in a timely fashion, would have, on balance, been successful.
At PotterReesDolan we often deal with cases in which the negligence identified relates to failings in the systems surrounding treatment, rather than the treatment itself. The management of waiting lists, identifying priorities amongst the patient population as well as cases which become more urgent, are all key in the safe management of patients.
The ombudsman found other patients waiting for this type of surgery had also experienced near misses as there was no apparent urgency for treatment of ACHD patients.
The health board has agreed to his recommendations and is taking steps to address waiting times for patients with heart disease.
If you have suffered a bereavement of a family member during or following the provision of healthcare and would like more information regarding hospital complaint processes or Inquests contact a member of our specialist clinical negligence team on 0161 237 5888.