OT - Articles in British Press - How do you say ooops?

[Guest guest]

Two Articles in Todays Sun:

And no, they are not meant to be humorus.

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Article One:

Op was on the wrong leg

BUNGLING docs operated on a mum's wrong leg — even though there was

a huge ARROW drawn on the other one.

Mum-of-three Tracey , 30, woke to find both ankles bandaged.

Her left was cut open before surgeons realised it was the right

which needed the 20-minute tendon op at Lincoln County Hospital.

Tracey said: " If this had been an amputation I could have come out

of there missing some toes off the wrong foot. "

Hairdresser Tracey fears any lasting damage could end her career and

is set to sue the hospital.

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Article Two:

OAP killed by MRI scan

By ROBIN PERRIE

A GREAT GRANNY died when forgetful doctors gave her a brain scan

which made her pacemaker pack up.

Three doctors and a nurse failed to tell radiologists that ex-mayor

Molly Brown, 83, had a pacemaker — even though they knew an MRI scan

could be deadly for her.

The MRI radio waves disrupted electrical impulses controlling

Molly's heart beat. Her heart stopped within minutes.

And at an inquest yesterday coroner Mitford blasted staff at

North Tyneside General Hospital, North Shields.

He said: " This situation arose in part because the presence of a

pacemaker was overlooked and not appreciated by the medical and

nursing staff. "

Mrs Brown — a Labour councillor at Wallsend for 37 years — was sent

for the scan at the Nuffield Hospital, Newcastle, in December 2001.

Doctors at North Tyneside referred her after she suffered blackouts.

References to her pacemaker on her medical notes " slipped the mind "

of consultant Dr Moorcroft when he requested the magnetic

resonance imaging scan, the inquest heard.

Senior House Officer Dr Anisha Metha filled in a safety form from

memory without checking the notes.

And even though Mrs Brown had to wait three days for the scan,

neither Pre-Registration House Officer Dr Gerald nor ward

sister Sharon read her notes.

The coroner said Dr Moorcroft overlooked the evidence of the

pacemaker. And he dismissed claims that Dr Gerald and Sister

were too busy to read the notes.

Mr Mitford told them: " A file is useless if you don't open it. "

He said Dr Metha made an elementary error and added: " If you don't

look back at what's been written, what's the point of making notes? "

Verdict: Misadventure

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And a personal note of disgust. If my memory is correct, a verdict

of " death by misadventure " attaches no criminal liability to it.

There might (and should be) some civil liabilities involved with

this last one, but all of the " offending " parties skate free on any

criminal charges or penalties.