More claims to follow in wake of foreign doctor's mistake

Alsters Kelley has warned of more claims to come following the fatal accidental overdose given to a patient by a German doctor on his first shift in the UK.

Similar cases to that of Dr Daniel Ubani are inevitable because the NHS is increasingly relying on locum doctors to cover out-of-hours services.

The German doctor, who has just been struck off by the UK authorities but still practises in Germany, was working for Take Care Now, one of a number of locum services which the health service has contracted to meet its need to provide cover. Dr Ubani mistakenly gave 10 times the usual amount of a painkilling drug to 70-year-old David Gray in February last year, saying he was too tired to concentrate after only three hours rest before starting his shift.

Alsters Kelley are currently working on a case involving the missed diagnosis of meningitis of a Coventry woman who sought treatment at an out of hours service in Kidderminster. Her family say it involves similar circumstances.

The main difficulty is that the NHS has agreed new contracts with GPs which mean they do not have to work out of hours or do home visits. It has also set up a number of independent treatment centres. In almost all cases, they are staffed by health professionals from overseas who are not familiar with practices in the UK.

While no-one would question their professional credentials, it is a fact that they need time to get used to the way things operate here. Throwing someone in with little induction is a prescription for disaster.

Unfortunately, with pressure on the NHS to deliver treatment faster and new rules limiting the employment time of junior doctors, the use of locum services in GP practices and hospitals is only going to grow. The Care Quality Commission has said it will investigate Take Care Now but that misses the point.

Unless we have structural changes in the NHS, cases like that of Mr Gray will multiply. This might be good news for lawyers but ultimately it is bad news for patients.

 

You can read more at The Birmingham Post.