NHS Urged To Learn From Error That Led To Pneumonia Death
01/02/2011
Medical negligence solicitors have issued an urgent plea for hospital bosses to learn from the “basic and avoidable” mistakes that resulted in a man’s death after he was wrongly given food against strict instructions.
Mark Ullyatt, 40, from Sheffield died in February 2008 in the intensive care unit at the Northern General Hospital after being fed a small amount of food and water, despite strict instructions to be kept nil by mouth.
Prior to his death, Mr Ullyatt had been recovering from surgery to remove his bladder and prostate gland and was not to be fed any food or drink orally.
Mr Ullyatt, who suffered from spina bifida and traumatic paraplegia following a road traffic accident when he was eight years old, was admitted to the Northern General Hospital for surgery on 5 February 2008 and had recovered well following the routine operation.
Four days after the operation, he was given a small amount of food and fluid by a nurse at the hospital. This got into his lung, causing him to vomit. He subsequently developed aspiration pneumonia and sadly died while in the intensive care unit.
Irwin Mitchell negotiated an out-of-court medical negligence settlement from the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which admitted that mistakes were made in the lead up to Mark’s death.
Anna Manning, a medical law expert at Irwin Mitchell, said: “This is an extremely sad case as Mr Ullyatt was making a good recovery after surgery until the error in feeding him and providing him with fluid by mouth.
“Nothing can ever be done to turn back the clock, but we welcome the hospital’s decision to acknowledge that mistakes were made in Mark’s care and to provide the family with a letter of apology.
“Patient safety must be the priority for the NHS. This was a basic and avoidable error that had catastrophic consequences for Mr Ullyatt and his family.
“Irwin Mitchell have repeatedly called for improvements in safety standards in medical care and will continue to campaign for the victims we represent until simple mistakes like these are eradicated.”
Mr Ullyatt’s sister, Michelle Hilley, said: “The whole family was devastated by Mark’s death. Throughout his life he always faced difficulties as a result of the road accident but he was a fighter and was really well spirited.
“We have been very patient and have waited for more than two years for the Trust to acknowledge that it made mistakes while caring for Mark.
“We only hope that things change so that no one else has to go through what Mark did and what our family has.”
Back to news
If you would like us to provide you with advice with regard to your potential claim, please complete our brief claim form. We will reply to your enquiry within one working day.
Fill out our quick claim form
If you would like to speak to someone directly about your claim, please call our friendly team on:
0870 024 0558