Call For Lessons To Be Learned After Series Of Care Failings

A Hospital Trust has apologised to a woman who had to have a fallopian tube removed following a three-day delay in surgery to remove her ectopic pregnancy. 

Jamie Hockey had experienced several days of pain and bleeding and undergone a number of tests at Leicester Royal Infirmary.

She was diagnosed as having an ectopic pregnancy, however, was advised by a consultant that she would not require surgery and could have conservative management.

Three days later the 30-year-old  was readmitted after complaining of severe pain. Another doctor said Jamie should not have been previously discharged and required surgery.

By the time Jamie, of Aylestone, underwent surgery the following day her right fallopian tube had ruptured. She lost around an estimated five pints of blood during surgery to fix the potentially life-threatening condition.

Following her ordeal Jamie instructed expert medical negligence lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate her care under University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust.

The trust admitted liability. In a letter John Adler, chief executive offered a “sincere and unreserved apology” on behalf of Trust adding it should have further counselled Jamie so she could have fully understood her situation and made “a better decision in the circumstances”.

Expert Opinion

“Jamie has faced a truly heart-breaking series of events, as she not only endured the devastation of losing a child but also suffered incredibly traumatic and avoidable complications afterwards.

“The care she received raised several questions and it is welcome to see the Trust in this case accept that it could have provided better support and also apologise regarding the issues.

“We are hopeful that this is a sign that lessons will be learned from Jamie’s experiences and that no one else will face the issues that she has in the future.” Jenna Harris - Partner

Find out more about Irwin Mitchell's expertise in handling medical negligence cases 

Jamie, A self-employed hairdresser, and her partner Luke, aged 34, discovered they were expecting their second child in March 2017.

After experiencing light bleeding her GP referred her to Leicester Royal Infirmary in mid-April.

On April 24, it was confirmed Jamie had an ectopic pregnancy in her right ovary. She was advised by a consultant that she would not require surgery. However, three days later Jamie developed severe pain in her right side and she was admitted to Leicester Royal Infirmary, where a different consultant said she should not have been discharged previously and surgery was vital.

On April 28, Jamie then underwent a procedure and it was confirmed that her right fallopian tube had ruptured and needed removing.

University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust admitted to several failings in Jamie’s care, including that the only option for treatment on April 24 was laparoscopic surgery and that surgical intervention should have taken place three days earlier than it ultimately did. The Trust also admitted that on balance this would have meant the fallopian tube would have been intact.

Jamie needed significant time off work following her surgery, as well as support in caring for her daughter, Indi. While she fell pregnant once again in the following July, she needed an investigative procedure to ensure there were no concerns. Thankfully Jamie later gave birth to a healthy baby girl, Bobbi on 29 March 2018.

Looking back on the problems, Jamie said: “Me and Luke were over the moon to be told that we were expecting another child, so the news of the ectopic pregnancy was incredibly hard to take.

“I placed great faith in the doctors who treated me and hoped I would be receiving care that would help me get through the ordeal in the best possible way.

“However, at no time did I feel that everything was explained to me properly. My head was in a spin with everything that was going on.

“Had the various options being fully explained I would have agreed to have surgery at the earliest opportunity. If this would have happened I feel it would have prevented the added pain I have had to go through.

“When we found out I was expecting again we were so nervous because of what had happened previously. It was so difficult not to feel something would go wrong so it was such a relief when Bobbi was born.
 
Jamie added: “While nothing will change what has happened to me, I am pleased that the NHS Trust has apologised for the problems and also admitted that things should have been handled differently.

“I also hope that this will mean that no other expectant mothers have to go through the pain that I faced in the future – this should not happen again.”