48 hospital cases investigated
Posted: July 24, 2013
Posted in: Birth Injury Medical Negligence
The General Medical Council (GMC) has been forced to investigate nearly 50 cases across hospitals in Essex following complaints about the work of doctors in the area. BBC Look East requested, through the Freedom of Information Act, to view the figures, which revealed 48 cases were being investigated by the GMC in and around Essex as of the 22nd of March.
The Queen’s Hospital in Romford – which is used regularly by people from Essex and London – housed eighteen of these cases, all of which the GMC are highly concerned about. The BBC also found that seven of these cases were from Colchester and Basildon hospitals; Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford had six cases; and the Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust in Harlow and the Southend University Hospital NHS Trust both had five cases.
‘Disregard for patient safety’
One case in the Basildon and Thurrock NHS Trust Hospital was particularly serious, as Dr Nikolaos Papanikolaou, who worked there, had been found guilty of severe misconduct. The investigation discovered that Dr Papnikolaou had failed to provide a caesarean section to women on three different occasions, one of which resulted in a stillbirth. The report by GMC described him as having a “reckless disregard for patient safety”. He is currently in the process of appealing the decision.
Peter Walsh, chief executive of Action against Medical Accidents, said: “I think there is a greater awareness following Mid Staffordshire that serious concerns about health professionals should not be swept under the carpet and should be investigated by the regulators.”
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