'If she had gone to another hospital she would be alive' - Rotherham Hospital failed dozens of patients
The family of a woman who died following failures at a Rotherham hospital has spoken out about their experience after it was revealed their tragedy was one of countless due to the service’s mishandled treatments.
In October 2020, 73-year-old Val Burkill underwent what she believed to be a routine procedure to remove gallstones at Rotherham Hospital.
Hours after the surgery, the retired hairdresser from Bolton-upon-Dearne was dishcarged and despite complaining of stomach pain no examination was carried out.
Later that night she was rushed by ambulance back to hospital.
She was diagnosed with a perforated bowel two weeks later, before developing sepsis as her condition continued to deteriorate.
Val, a mum-of-three and grandma-of-seven, was transferred to a hospice on October 20 and died four days later
Her husband Garry, a retired builder, said: “Val was a wonderful person - one in a million. She was the most loving and caring wife, mum and grandma and I owe her everything.
“She taught me to be a deserving dad and granddad, but most of all a better person. She was so caring and selfless and would be first in the queue to help anyone.”
An inquest in February 2023, recorded a narrative conclusion ruling Val developed ‘recognised complications’ of her procedure.
In a separate legal claim brought by law firm Irwin Mitchell on the family’s behalf, the Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust admitted failings, including that she was prematurely discharged from hospital.
The Trust also admitted that with appropriate care, on the balance of probability, Val would have survived and made a full recovery.
“We thought she was going to hospital for a routine procedure,” Garry added.
“Val was never told about any risks or complications, and we never got the impression there was anything to worry about. We thought she would be in and back home in no time.
“While she was back home in no time, she shouldn’t have been. That afternoon I could tell she wasn’t her usual bubbly self and when I called the hospital I was told she probably had trapped wind.
“By that night she was in absolute agony and was vomiting. I called for an ambulance and Val was rushed back to hospital. She never came home.
“Because it was in the pandemic we couldn’t visit Val and instead had to rely on telephone updates. However, I don’t think the seriousness of the situation was relayed to us and I still struggle to understand how it took two weeks to diagnose that Val had a perforated bowel.
“It was only when her condition was terminal that myself and son, Lee, were allowed to see her in hospital. Many of our family, who Val loved dearly, were unable to see her or say goodbye to her.
“Seeing her as her life slipped away is something that will stay with us forever. We still had so many years together and I feel robbed that these were taken away from us.”
The Trust has come under serious scrutiny in recent years, with an external review into its Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangio-Pancreatography (ERCP) Service - which treated Val - called after 68 patients either died or suffered complications within 30 days of a procedure.
The review by Royal College of Physicians found failures in the care of 58 patients, while 25 ‘suffered some degree of harm’, a hospital Trust report said.
In July 2021, the service was suspended with patient’s care transferred to Sheffield.
Details of the RCP’s review, and patients’ suffering are only just coming light and Garry has said the scale of the failings is ‘shocking’.
“It breaks my heart to think how she needlessly suffered and the treatment she received from Rotherham Trust.
“Our family will never be the same without Val. We knew we owed it to her to get answers regarding her care but it was still devastating when the Trust admitted Val would have made a full recovery if she had received the correct care.
“This latest news is hard to accept. We knew there were issues with Val’s care, but we never expected there to have been failings in the ERCP service on such a large scale. Not only has this news shocked us but it has brought back the horrible memories around what happened to Val and the pain and suffering she had to go through in her final weeks.
“It’s hard not to think that if she had gone to another hospital for her ERCP Val would still be alive.
“Our family continues to have concerns about whether everything is being done to ensure the safety of patients and this latest news just adds to that. Our hearts go out to the others who have been affected by failings in the ERCP service.”
Dr Jo Beahan, medical director for The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We apologise unreservedly to patients and their families affected by the failures identified in the Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangio-Pancreatography (ERCP) service review. The care provided to some of the patients who underwent the procedure was not at the level that we strive for.
“ERCP is a specialist type of endoscopy undertaken to diagnose and treat problems in the liver, gallbladder, bile ducts, and pancreas. Less than five per cent of endoscopies performed in the UK are ERCP. It carries well-recognised risks, and patients requiring an ERCP procedure may have complex underlying health conditions which are considered life limiting such as frailty or patients who have an underlying inoperable cancer.
“The Trust suspended the ERCP service in July 2021 when concerns were raised. Overall, we have reviewed over 950 ERCP procedures and the care of 68 patients has been reviewed by independent experts. The care provided to 58 of these patients was identified as not being provided to an acceptable standard, with 25 of these patients experiencing a level of harm.
“The Trust has contacted the patients or their relatives whose care has been independently reviewed, including those where no harm was found. We have apologised and explained the findings of the review. We will continue to support patients and families on an individual basis to ensure they have the opportunity to understand the care they or their relative received.
“We are aware that this may cause concern for other patients who have been treated at the Trust. Anyone with concerns about their care in endoscopy can contact the Trust’s Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) on [email protected] or 01709 424461.”