Grandmother dies af ter she was ‘dropped in operation’
A PENSIONER died after being ‘dropped’ on the floor from an operating table in an NHS hospital.
Jeanette Shields, 70, had been receiving treatment for gallstones when she slipped and broke her hip.
Two days later at the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle, during surgery to repair that break, Mrs Shields was dropped on the floor while being moved off the operating table.
Relatives said she suffered a ‘great big bump’ on the back of her head and died six weeks later.
The grandmother-of-four knew there had been mistakes with her care, even telling relatives before she died: ‘Don’t let them get away with it.’
Bosses at the hospital initially refused to perform a post-mortem but Mrs Shields’ family insisted. They have slammed the ‘disgusting’ way her case had been handled.
Yesterday her husband, John Shields, 78, a retired print factory worker, said: ‘I am absolutely devastated. We are in a state of disbelief.
‘We do not understand how this could have possibly happened. They dropped her off the operating [table] after the surgery. Then they had to use the sliding board to pick her up and rush her in and do scans.
‘She had a great big bump on the back of her head and she just deteriorated and then she passed away.’
The couple, who had been together for 52 years and had two daughters, were due to celebrate their Golden Wedding anniversary in December.
North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Trust said an investigation was under way ‘in relation to an incident involving a patient in one of our theatres’.
Mrs Shields, also a retired printing worker, was admitted to Cumberland Infirmary for treatment on March 22. She was due to be released on April 9. But, the night before, she left her bed to go to the toilet by herself after getting no response to her buzzer from nurses, Mr Shields said. However, she felt dizzy, fell and broke her hip.
Two days later she had surgery to repair it, after which the hospital called Mr Shields to say the operation had been a success but there had been an accident.
It is not clear how Mrs Shields, who also suffered kidney problems, ended up falling on to the floor from the operating table. But she spent time in intensive care before she died with her family, including her beloved miniature schnauzer Milo, by her side on May 21.
Mrs Shields’ daughter Vikki, 49, said the family had to alert nurses to the large bump on her mother’s head. ‘She told us, “Do not let them get away with it”,’ she added.
Her father said he was initially told there would not be a post-mortem. But five days after his wife’s death he said he was contacted by an anonymous whistleblower.
The examination is yet to take place and Mrs Shields’ funeral has been delayed.
Mr Shields said: ‘Jeanette was supposed to come home, but due to the hospital’s negligence she has died. I have instructed a solicitor and I am determined to take this to the highest possible level.
‘The hospital have treated us in a disgusting manner.
‘It’s as though they have just pushed Jeanette aside, and wanted to cover the whole thing up.’
A spokesman for the Trust said he was unable to comment on an ongoing investigation. ‘The outcome of the investigation will also determine any further action that we will need to take,’ he said.
‘Great big bump on back of her head’