My sister, aged 47, was admitted to a Nursing home for routine elective surgery after an extensive pre-operative assessment and clearance. She underwent a hysterectomy, appendectomy and repair of a ventral hernia with a prolene mesh on
My sister went into hypovolemic shock from post-operative bleeding and had a Cardiac Arrest at
On examination of the records provided by the nursing home after my sister's demise, some of the concerns that came across were:
1. Why was the bleeding not diagnosed earlier despite clinical evidence of post-operative haemorrhage, i.e. (increased Heart rate, decreased blood pressure, pallor, abdominal distension and decreased urine output) ?
2 Why was there no Critical Care Specialist overseeing the Surgical ICU with authority to override inappropriate orders and assessment when the patient’s life is at risk? Considering the fact that this particular nursing home publicizes Intensive Care Units in their facility, it appears that it is not the norm at for them to have 24-hour Critical Care Specialist(s). This unfortunate turn of events could have been prevented if the intensive care units at the n.home were correctly staffed with 24-Hour Critical Care specialists as evident with other reputed hospitals/intensive care units in
3 Why was blood transfusion not started earlier?
I earnestly feel that if proper monitoring and necessary actions had been taken that first post-operative day, my sister would have been alive today. Multi-organ failure followed as a consequence of the hypovolemic shock and cardiac arrest.
It has been a great shock for me and our family, especially for my sister's 12-year old daughter. I would like to know from my fellow members and experts what actions can I take legally against this medical negligence which I dread to think of happening to another person
I am sorry for the lengthy message. But I hope I could explain the situation.
Thanks