Spennymoor Wife And Medical Negligence Lawyers Call For Lessons To Be Learned

A wife whose husband died following “missed opportunities” to act upon a life-threatening blood clot is calling for lessons to be learned. 

“Neglect” contributed to Alan Hodgson’s death after he faced delays in undergoing emergency surgery for the clot which was blocking his aorta, reducing blood flow to his legs. He also has reduced blood flow to his right kidney.

The severity of the 61-year-old’s condition was not recognised by medics at University Hospital of North Durham “despite numerous interactions” with him by staff, a coroner found. This was “compounded by a delay in reporting and acting upon a partial scan, they added.

Spennymoor man Alan not reviewed by senior doctor at North Durham Hospital

Alan, of Spennymoor, County Durham, was reviewed by a junior doctor at University Hospital of North Durham in the early hours of the morning. Alan, who had been admitted to hospital with Covid-19, reported that he had had pain in his legs and hips for around eight hours. The junior doctor could not feel a pulse in the 61-year-old’s legs. 

Alan should have been reviewed by a senior medic health bosses accepted, following legal submissions by expert medical negligence lawyers at Irwin Mitchell. However, a registrar believed the dad-of-three and grandad-of-six’s condition was connected to Covid-related muscle pain so did not review him. Instead, they listed Alan for a consultant review later that morning.

Alan seen by a consultant later that morning

A consultant suspected Alan, a sales manager, had a blood clot and requested an urgent CT scan just after 11.30am. The scan was completed around four hours later. 

After a blood clot was diagnosed, Alan’s case was referred to a specialist vascular surgeon at another hospital for an opinion at around 7.20pm that day. 

Patient also faced ambulance transfer delays because inappropriate response level requested 

Despite the vascular surgeon saying they wanted Alan transferred to arrive for surgery within one hour, it was around five hours before Alan arrived at the hospital. He faced a wait of more than three hours for an ambulance to arrive at North Durham Hospital because ward staff at requested an inappropriate response level. 

Alan underwent emergency surgery to restore blood flow to his legs. However, his condition continued to deteriorate. He died two days later as a result of organ failure following reduced blood flow to his bowel and a blocked aorta. 

Family asks medical negligence lawyers to investigate following Alan's death

Following Alan’s death in January 2021, his wife Diane, aged 64, instructed specialist medical negligence lawyers to help investigate and secure answers.   

After an inquest in 2022 concluded Alan died of “natural causes contributed to by neglect”, coroner Derek Winter, issued a prevention of future deaths report. He called on County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, which runs University Hospital of North Durham, to set out what measures it would take to improve care. 

Following legal submissions by Irwin Mitchell, in a civil case, the Hospital Trust accepted a breach of duty and apologised “unreservedly for the failures” in Alan’s care. 

The Trust accepted that if Alan’s vascular symptoms had been identified earlier, he would have been transferred for and undergone specialist surgery sooner. However, the Trust argued that even with earlier surgery Alan would not have survived.

Diane has now spoken for the first time about her loss and joined her legal team in calling for lessons to be learned. 

Tracy Tai is the specialist medical negligence lawyer at Irwin Mitchell representing Diane

Expert Opinion

“The last few years and coming to terms with Alan’s death and the missed opportunities leading up to it have been incredibly difficult for his family.

“They firmly believe Alan’s deteriorating condition meant he should have been seen by a senior doctor hours before he was, and with earlier escalation and surgery, he would have survived.

“During the course of investigations, worrying issues in the care Alan received have been identified. While these have provided Alan’s loved ones with the answers they deserve, they’ve also added to the anguish and pain they continue to feel.

“It’s only now that Diane has found the courage to share her story. By doing so she hopes patient care is improved to help prevent what happened to Alan happening to others.

“We join Diane in calling for lessons to be learned – especially around improving communication between medical staff and treating cases such as Alan’s with the utmost urgency.” Tracy Tai

Diane reveals pain at husband's death as she calls for lessons to be learned

Diane said: “While it’s more than three years since Alan died the pain our family continue to face each day is a raw now as it was when he died. 

“While he went into hospital with Covid we never could have imagined the chain of events that unfolded. When I was told he had a blood clot and his condition was serious, I couldn’t believe it. From there everything seemed to move so quickly. 

“Someone’s feet being blue would be a concern to your average person, let alone medical professionals so we still struggle to understand how the seriousness of his condition wasn’t picked up and how more senior medics didn’t intervene earlier. 

“We feel let down by the lack of care Alan received by the Hospital Trust and that there were so many missed opportunities in his care.

“Those final days are something that will still with me forever and it’s something I’m not sure I’ll ever get over. Alan endured the most horrific last few days of his life in agony, scared and alone. 

“Alan was one of the good guys. Nothing was ever too much trouble for him. We had still had so many hoped and dreams for the future that we’ll never get to fulfil. Alan was my best friend and soul mate and one of the hardest things to try and accept is that we never got to say goodbye properly. 

“On top of the lack of recognition of the seriousness of Alan’s condition, to also find out Alan faced delays in being transferred for surgery because hospital staff didn’t use the correct phrase to request an ambulance, astounds me. To me using the correct language seems basic and is something that all staff need to be aware of. 

“I’d do anything to turn the clock back and have Alan in our lives but know that’s not possible. All I can hope for now is that by speaking out others don’t have to go through what our family have.”

Medical negligence: Alan Hodgson's story

Alan was admitted to North Durham Hospital on 7 January 2021, with breathing difficulties after testing positive for Covid-19 on 27 December, 2020.

At around 2.15am on 11 January 2021, was reviewed by a junior doctor. During the examination Alan reported he had leg and hip pain which had started around 6pm the previous day. He couldn’t feel his legs, which were cool to touch.

The junior doctor discussed Alan’s care with a registrar who believed his condition was connected to Covid-related muscle pain so did not review Alan. Instead, the registrar listed Alan for a consultant review later that morning. 

During a review a consultant was concerned Alan may have a blood clot and requested an urgent CT scan just after 11.30am. The scan was completed around four hours later but Alan’s legs were not scanned.  

The scan results available just after 5.40pm found Alan had a blood clot in his aorta and reduced blood flow to his right kidney.

At around 7.20pm a vascular specialist asked for Alan to be given anticoagulants and for him to be blue-lighted to arrive within an hour. 

At around 8pm ward staff dialled 999 and requested that an ambulance respond within an hour rather than Alan arriving at the second hospital within that period. The call was classed as a Level 3 – which national guidelines say 90 per cent of such incidents should be responded to within two hours. 

The ambulance service was unable to fulfil the one-hour response and tried to call the ward twice just after 9.30pm but nobody answered. 

Just before 9.55pm ward staff called to chase up an ambulance at which point the call was upgraded to a Level 2 emergency response – with a target time of 18 minutes. 

However, the ambulance arrived at 11.20pm. Alan arrived at the second hospital an hour later. 

Following legal submissions by Irwin Mitchell, County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, accepted a breach of duty. This included that Alan should have been reviewed by a senior medic after the junior doctor’s examination on 11 January. 

There were missed opportunities to act sooner during 11 January, including when not referring Alan to a vascular specialist when a CT scan was requested. 

Delays in getting an ambulance crew to transfer Alan because of an inappropriate response level being requested was also a breach of duty, the Trust accepted.

Find out more about Irwin Mitchell's expertise in supporting families with care concerns at our dedicated medical negligence section. Alternatively, to speak to an expert contact us or call 0370 1500 100.