Patient had avoidable surgery following Crohn’s misdiagnosis

The public services ombudsman for Wales said the incident was “completely avoidable” and recommend health officials make a redress payment of £10,000.

The patient was initially referred to Cardiff’s University Hospital of Wales with suspected appendicitis.  Following a number of scans and tests, he was wrongly diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, and colon surgery was recommended which led to a number of complications.

The patient suffered initial bleeding from the initial surgery and required a stoma, despite being told the chances of that were “very, very slim”.  He also developed a hernia, which required further surgery, and a mesh to be inserted.

Following the investigation into the case, ombudsman Nick Bennett called the case “regrettable”, adding “Physicians responsible for (the patient’s) care should have employed a watch and wait approach in which his condition would probably have settled without surgical treatment.

“Instead, (the patient), a vulnerable individual, faced completely avoidable trauma of unnecessary surgery and post-treatment complications – a trauma which saw him seek mental health support.”

Mr Bennett made several recommendations, including that those involved in the patient’s care undergo relevant training in the management of Crohn’s disease and chronic appendicitis.

The health board said it accepted the conclusions and findings of the report and agreed to implement its recommendations.

Chadwick Lawrence’s specialist team of clinical negligence lawyers have years of experience in medical negligence claims, providing support and guidance after life-changing events.  Not only do we represent clients in Yorkshire, but because of our reputation we also represent clients nationally.

If you believe that you or a relative may have been injured as a result of clinical/medical negligence, please call for free legal advice from our medical negligence solicitors on the freephone number below.

Posted by Tony May, Partner/head of Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk ), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

Freephone : 0800 304 7382