Lawyers Say Candour Is Needed From Health Board To Provide Answers To Families

Expert lawyers working on behalf of the families whose loved ones ‘avoidable deaths’ are linked to Cardiff liver surgeon David Paul Berry say their clients hope the New Year will bring new information about how it was possible for eight people to lose their lives unnecessarily in such a short period of time.

Medical law experts at Irwin Mitchell say their clients who lost loved ones while under the care of David Berry at University Hospital Wales deserve fast, transparent information from Cardiff and Vale University Health Board.
 
They say this should include why it was only in December this year that UHB confirmed the scale of the scandal and set up a helpline that concerned patients or families could ring, despite it being nearly a year since David Berry was suspended by the Board and referred to the General Medical Council (GMC).

Emma Rush, a specialist medical lawyer at Irwin Mitchell’s Birmingham office is leading the action.

Expert Opinion

December has understandably been a difficult month for our clients as it was only then that they learnt the full scale of how many avoidable deaths were linked to David Berry which was both shocking and concerning.

“Our clients hope January will bring about a culture of candour with patient safety at its heart from the board to help them begin the long process of understanding the circumstances surrounding their loss and restoring their faith in the University Hospital Wales.

“The board confirmed it carried out its own internal review following initial complaints into David Berry’s care and our clients deserve to know the findings of this report so they can be certain that everything possible was done to prevent further avoidable deaths.

“They would also like to know why the Board did not release information sooner about how many patients were affected, despite the board being aware of the numbers and suspending David Berry nearly a year ago, and also why it was only in December that a helpline was set up for anyone with concerns to call.

“We will continue to work on our clients behalf to help secure them these much-needed answers and ensure lessons are learnt so no one else has to go through a similar ordeal.” Emma Rush - Partner

Read more about Irwin Mitchell's expertise relating to medical negligence claims