Patient wins five-figure payout over Russells Hall Hospital surgery blunder
A father has received a five-figure payout after he suffered a cardiac arrest when an anaesthetist left the operating theatre as he was undergoing surgery at a Black Country hospital.
Adam Bennett, aged 48, had gone to Russells Hall Hospital, in Dudley, for routine surgery when he went into cardiac arrest, forcing the procedure to be abandoned.
Russells Hall has apologised after the incident sparked an investigation and resulted in legal action.
The anaesthetist was subsequently disciplined and referred to the General Medical Council over the blunder.
Lawyers claimed that if the doctor had been present at the time of the cardiac arrest, drugs could have been administered, which could have prevented it and ensured the surgery continued as planned.
He had been left unattended for two minutes during urology surgery.
Mr Bennett, from Lower Gornal, said he was stunned when he found out what had happened during surgery in April 2015, and that he had put his ‘faith’ in the medical team.
He insisted he wanted ‘lessons to be learned’ from the incident.
While he was under general anaesthetic, the father-of-three’s heart rate became irregular and he went on to have a cardiac arrest.
He said: “After the incident I was told what had happened and how the anaesthetist was not present in the theatre.
"I could not believe it – you put a huge amount of faith in the doctors treating you, so I was completely shocked.
“If everything had gone to plan I should have been out of hospital that day, but I needed days in hospital to recover and then also another procedure booked in for July.
“While I am happy to have got a settlement, this was always about more than money for me. Safety has to always come first.”
Ashley Corker, a solicitor at law firm Irwin Mitchell, said: “Patient safety should always be the absolute priority for the NHS.”
Diane Wake, chief executive of the Dudley Group NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, said: “We accept that the temporary absence of the anaesthetist during Adam Bennett’s procedure was inexcusable and that if he had been present the situation would have been managed differently.
"During our investigation, the anaesthetist was placed on restricted practice and referred to the General Medical Council.
“We would like to apologise to Mr Bennett for any distress caused.”
