A review conducted by West Hertfordshire NHS Trust has found that the care of three cancer patients cwas compromised after they were not given follow-up appointments at Watford General Hospital. Two of those patients have since died.

In total, there were 810 patients reviewed. Out of that number, 121 are still being reviewed and 686 have been informed there are no clinical concerns about them. The results show a breach in NHS rules and two managers have been suspended.

A spokeswoman for the trust said that in one case there was a delay because processes were not followed correctly but that the cancer was still found at the earliest stage and that an apology has been made to the family. She said: “We have also met the family of a patient who has since died. Our clinical view is that a delay in seeing the patient may have contributed to their death, but it is not certain.”

New Procedures Now In Place

The trust stated that a number of processes had since been put into place following the review, including weekly meetings to discuss all referrals and appointments, the retraining of staff and a new IT appointment tracker system.

Chief Executive of the Trust, Samantha Jones, said that she wants to apologise to every patient and relative who had been affected. She added that the emergence of the information came as a result of the new management’s review system and that the cases dated back a number of years. She also said that all the new changes currently being implemented will be communicated publicly.

Making A Clinical Negligence compensation Claim

If you or a member of your family has been affected by a misdiagnosis, a delay in treatment or a mistake in surgery then you may be able to make a compensation claim.

Jefferies Solicitors help clients with many different types of clinical negligence claims including misdiagnosis claims, delay in treatment claims, birth injury claims and surgical error claims. If you would like to learn more about the validity of your claim then please get in touch with us to tell us more about your situation.

Call our no win no fee solicitors today on 0800 342 3206 or complete an online claim form and a member of our team will get back to you.

Claiming Compensation For Medical Negligence

If you feel that you may have experienced medical negligence contact our firm of no win, no fee medical negligence solicitors by either calling our national accident helpline above or filling out our initial quick claim online form. A member of our team of personal injury solicitors team will then discuss the prospect of you making a personal injury claim, in confidence.

Published 16th February 2015.