In the news: ‘Catalogue of errors’ in treatment of terminal man
Leslie Boatfield died of bowel cancer. His surviving daughter complained about a series of errors.
- “… he spent his final hours in agony after he was discharged from hospital without painkillers, while nurses failed to put in a stent.”
- “…his GP surgery didn’t refer him to a carer…”
“It was a catalogue of errors and people not doing things,” Ms Price said.
It doesn’t make everything OK, but “the University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust has apologised for the care Mr Boatfield received.”
Apologies don’t change the past, but a sincere apology can help. And, in American healthcare, a heartfelt apology actually lessens the likelihood of a malpractice lawsuit being filed.
The NHS claims they have improved procedures in the aftermath of the mistakes. Again, that doesn’t change the past, but each mistake should be an opportunity for learning and improvement.
“An NHS trust has said it has changed its end of life care procedures after a series of failings in its treatment of a terminally ill man.”
The icing on the cake was the NHS taking 12 months to send the apology letter… which then ignored the fact that Boatfield had passed away — information the NHS certainly had.
“Their response letter came the other week and it wished him all the best with his future care, when they know he’s passed away,” she said.
I wonder how long it will take to apologize for that… and what procedures have been improved?