What a way to go

[OneFootInTheGrave]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/7739359/Woman-died-after-doctors-failed-to-spot-toilet-brush-in-her-buttocks.html

Cindy Corton, 35, was left with the bizarre injury after a drunken fall in a friend's bathroom in 2005.

She was twice seen by hospital staff in the aftermath of the incident and an X-ray was carried out.

But an inquest heard it took Mrs Corton, of Sleaford, Lincolnshire, two years to convince doctors that the handle was lodged in flesh of her bottom.

By then what should have been a routine procedure to remove it had become much more dangerous.

After two unsuccessful operations in 2007, Mrs Corton underwent further, much riskier surgery and died from massive blood loss at Nottingham's Queen's Medical Centre in June last year.

Recording a narrative verdict, coroner Stuart Fisher criticised Dr Killian Mbewe, who first examined Mrs Corton at Grantham hospital.

After the inquest, husband Peter Corton said: "Cindy got a very poor service from the NHS.

"I'm sure she would have got better treatment in foreign countries."

Drunken fall

NHS

[MikeH]

Yeah, doctors never made a mistake in another country.

NHS

[OneFootInTheGrave]

well there is a mistake, and there also is gross negligence... how small can a toilet brush be?

[MikeH]

Yeah, doctors never committed gross negligence in another country.

NHS

[OzzyKP]

It isn't just that they missed it, she was trying to convince them for two years that there was something lodged in there and they refused to listen. How fricken stupid can you get?

NHS

[Wezil]

How big was the ass?

[OzzyKP]

Cavernous I'm guessing.

[OneFootInTheGrave]

well for sure they commitied gross negligence, and for sure the NHS is better than "no health care", or very expensive healthcare like for million of Americans...still this is one mistake... not to put the whole system down on this one, but this goes into the colum of unimaginable to have happened, toghether with Armin Meiwes, Fritzl and Vanessa George, it is only that this is of "medical negligence" nature and not outright criminal behaviour.

Sure NHS is better than any alternative that you could possibly have in UK, but still incredible

[MikeH]

The Murdoch press are treating this as a very NHS story, helped by the husband's quote, but the coroner recorded a narrative verdict, which means he doesn't attribute any blame although he was critical of the hospital.

The BBC's less anti-NHS coverage quotes the hospital who suggest that she might not have been completely open about the circumstances of the injury when first admitted to A&E.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/lincolnshire/8690643.stm

Anyway.

[MikeH]

not to put the whole system down on this one

Oh ok, that is what you did but if that's not what you meant then fine.

[OneFootInTheGrave]

well IMO this is a prime example where the hospital and the doctor should be blamed, would have been somewhere else, and heads would roll. Just like an example in the past when they hanged them publicly, in this case it would be a well deserved dimsissal... for sure such cases do no happen, ever... incredible that it did, and so as it is a one-off let the whole team find something else to do.

If I ever got to a hospital and found that the doctors name was "Dr Killian Mbewe" - I'd be running... not that he is going to kill me in person while I am visiting, but I could not trust his judgement for anything. So someone somewhere should be doing the public a service and get him out, as well as the rest of the team... for what they are paying them I am sure they can get a better replacement locally or internationally...

Did not read or search for more of the case, so not sure if dismissal happened, but if there ever were grounds for one this is it, and not that nurse which did undercover shooting for Panorama to expose dire state in some of the hospitals a year or two ago. What is wrong with UK, from the other thead - those two right there... not just such dire gross negligence, but failure to act on it which really enabled this to happen in the first place (and enables countless less serious issues), while on the other hand dismissing a person who raises a red flag - this sort of "ruling"/management behaviour is all over the system, it's a disease which is killing the country, making NHS poor (among other national health services in the developed world which work a lot better), and really encouraging negligence all across the board. They are trying to legally "regulate" some of this. like protection of whistleblowers, but who is crazy to risk their livelyhood in such a culture and rely on a legal process which could last for years, in a "life ruining" David vs Goliath legal struggle? It for sure is much easier to "shut up and put up" as they say, and it happens all the time all over the place. Even when something outrageous is raised, like this case - usually "the inquest" of some sort will happen, and I cannot remember that anything ever came from any inquest that I heard about. "Inquest" should be renamed to "whitewash" as it will always protect the authority and punish someone "unimportant" regardless of the facts.

update - while writing - looked up in Google the name of the doctor, found it on linked in, and as far as I can tell he is still working... perhaps after this media storm someone will do something... but even if they do - what do you need to get some accountability? Failure to do anything - It's a disgrace, and is ruining the country. Worst part is that even if something was done in this case, it would only be due to a witch hunt, while "shut up and put up" will stay embeded in the culture, one "showcase" will never change that... the change starts at the top, but I don't see that changing anytime soon (read - my and your lifetime).

[MikeH]

Interesting that you can draw conclusions that are longer than the text of the original article from something that included no actual medical facts whilst discounting the view of the coroner, who is completely independent from the hospital and the NHS but who did have access to all the detail of the case.

[MikeH]

Whilst your criticisms of inquests are generally true for political inquests, the coroners and our courts system really are pretty good and fair most of the time.

[OneFootInTheGrave]

yes, for something so outrageous it is easy to jump the gun, but it just looks like what I have see only too many times on a lesser scale, not to jump to conclusions immidiately.

[Tuberski]

Having had to supply a tool for the removal of a foreign body from a body cavity, I can tell you this happens more than you think. But, usually it is found.

ACK!