Lawrence (not his real name) was devastated when his father, who was only 55 years of age, collapsed and died suddenly on 27th December 2017.

He suspected that this could have been prevented because his father had been taken via ambulance to the Norfolk & Norwich Hospital only 5 days earlier but was discharged from the A&E Department later the same day.  After speaking with the Coroner it was suggested that life-saving surgery could have been performed had the heart problems been identified earlier.  Lawrence therefore sent a letter to Norfolk & Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to ask them some questions about this.  It was a surprise when he was subsequently told that a decision had been made to carry out a Serious Incident Investigation.

The primary purpose of a Serious Untoward Incident (SUI) / Serious Incident Requiring Investigation (SIRI) is to look carefully at the care a patient has received, and the decisions made.  The aim is to identify any poor care and ensure lessons are learned to prevent a future reoccurrence.  As Lawrence discovered such an investigation is not conducted without good reason to suspect that the medical/nursing care has been poor, and it is a surprise that he had to instigate this.  After waiting a further 6 months Lawrence finally received the Serious Incident report, and this identified serious treatment errors in his father’s care.  However, it did not answer all his questions; in particular, if his father would have survived had he received appropriate care.

With our help, we were able to obtain independent cardiology expert evidence to answer these outstanding questions.  Sadly this confirmed that there was an unreasonable failure to diagnose heart problems (acute coronary syndrome) when his father was admitted to the A&E Department, Norfolk & Norwich Hospital on 22nd December 2017.  He should have received immediate treatment with medication, coronary angiogram and PCI (percutaneous coronary intervention) with the insertion of a stent.  If this had been done, he would have survived for many more years.  We are now in the process of finalising our evidence to commence Court proceedings and calculating the likely level of compensation payable to Lawrence and his family.

Nick Gray from our Clinical Negligence Department was acting for Lawrence & he said:

“It is often difficult to know if something more could have been done to prevent damage/death following earlier medical treatment, but if the Hospital in question have already commenced a Serious Untoward Incident (SUI) or Serious Incident Requiring Investigation (SIRI) this is one of the clearest indicators available.  In these situations I would strongly encourage the patient/their family to contact us for free assistance, which should help them to discover the full story and any entitlement to financial compensation” 

If you would like to investigate the care that you, or a family member, have received, please contact our Clinical Negligence department on 01482 323697 for expert legal advice.