STAFF at a private hospital in Doncaster have been retrained after a pensioner died weeks after a knee replacement operation went wrong.
A delay in treating an infection to the surgical wound was described as "unacceptable" at an inquest into the death of 78-year old Alfred Gabriel.
Mr Gabriel, from Tickhill, was admitted to Capio Park Hill Hospital in Doncaster in July 2005 for a
total knee replacement operation but died 14 days later.
Before the operation Mr Gabriel's family said he was active, independent and looking forward to an improvement in his mobility.
Solicitor David Body, representing the family, said: "In the days following his operation, staff noted that Mr Gabriel's wound was gaping.
"His condition deteriorated dramatically after his surgery and he died on August 10 after delays in the treatment of his knee infection.
"The coroner heard that hospital staff have been retrained following concerns highlighted by this case."
Mr Body also complained that internal investigations had been going on since 2005 but Mr Gabriel's family, including daughter Janina Parkin and son Simon Gabriel, were only made aware of the investigations in February 2008.
He said: "This was understandably a shock to them. They are keen to learn more about the conclusions that were reached."
After a day of medical evidence coroner Stanley Hooper recorded a verdict of accidental death.
Part of the evidence came from an expert orthopaedic surgeon who said the delay in treating Mr Gabriel's knee was unacceptable.
In a statement after the inquest Park Hill Hospital's Dawn Abbott said: "All the staff at Park Hill Hospital were very saddened by Mr Gabriel's death and our thoughts are still with his family.
"Sadly no operation is 100 per cent risk-free."
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