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Senior Associate Medical Negligence Solicitor
Nearly 10,000 patients haven’t been given follow-up appointments at Aintree Hospital’s gastroenterology department over the last six years.
Many of these cases are believed to involve people with serious illnesses, including liver problems and inflammatory bowel disease.
That means a large number of people won’t have received vital checks they need to make sure they are recovering well or to monitor their conditions to ensure they don’t get worse.
The problem was highlighted by consultants at the Royal Liverpool Hospital, who contacted the Care Quality Commission (CQC) after becoming aware of issues at Aintree, the Health Service Journal reports.
If you attended the gastroenterology unit at Aintree Hospital and have concerns about the care you received, get in touch with our Medical Negligence Solicitors for a free claims assessment.
We’d be happy to discuss your situation and to consider whether you have grounds to make a medical negligence claim. For example, we will consider any potential late diagnosis and delayed treatment of a serious illness. If mistakes have been made, we can help you to access any care, support and rehabilitation you may need.
We're rated‘Excellent’A restructuring of NHS services in Liverpool led to the creation of a new organisation called Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (LUHFT) in 2018. As part of this, the gastroenterology departments at Aintree Hospital and the Liverpool Royal were merged.
The issue with follow-up appointments was discussed by Aintree’s Board ahead of the merger, when the backlog was about 6,500. LUHFT later carried out a review and said the “cumulative effect of workforce gaps” led to a “shortfall in capacity”.
The Covid-19 pandemic has also put strain on the Trust, pushing up the number of patients waiting for a follow-up to almost 10,000.
According to the Health Service Journal, about 7,000 of these people have seen the target date at which they should have had a follow-up appointment pass without being seen. Meanwhile, around 2,500 patients haven’t been set a target date or haven’t had a follow-up appointment booked yet.
LUHFT is currently reviewing every affected case and confirmed that of the 1,100 cases looked at so far, no patients had suffered as a result of the delay.
In a statement, the Trust said it is “working through the findings of the review and has an action plan in place to ensure patients receive the care they need as soon as possible”.
If you believe you received substandard treatment from Aintree’s gastroenterology unit, including a failure to offer you a follow up appointment, you could have grounds to claim compensation, so you can access any specialist support and treatment you may need.
Our friendly, supportive team of experts can speak to you with no obligation and let you know if you have a good chance of making a successful claim.
If we can take on your case, we will instruct independent medical experts to comment on the standard of care you received and whether any delay in your follow-up treatment has caused you further harm.
We have a strong track record of helping people claim for medical errors and late diagnosis of a serious illness. At Simpson Millar, we take the view that it’s better to work with rather than against the NHS to settle claims and we are encouraged to see LUHFT are reviewing the services they offer.
Our collaborative approach makes the process less stressful and confrontational for the people we represent, but also encourages the NHS to learn lessons from what’s happened and make positive changes. Call us for a free claims assessment so we can speak with you.
Fill in the form below to get in touch with one of our dedicated team members, or call our team today on: 0808 239 6043
