Surgery consent forms deemed inadequate

procedure to be stopped. However, a senior staff grade surgeon and a consultant colorectal surgeon continued nonetheless. Mrs C said she had been left severely traumatised by what occurred.

“Our investigation identified a number of serious failings including poor communication, poor record-keeping, poor understanding of the consent process, and a failure to stop the procedure when asked.”

Other incidents include a woman who was not warned before undergoing a cardiac angiogram that there was a risk of internal bleeding or vascular damage that could trigger a stroke.

A few days after the procedure she lost power in her legs, which was linked to a type of stroke within her spinal cord.

The report states: “Mrs A was transferred to a different hospital, where her scan was reviewed and found to show the appearance of a stroke on the surface of the brain. Mrs A did not recover the use of her legs, and she complained she had not been warned of the risks associated with an angiogram. We found the board’s consent forms and printed information were inadequate.”

The SPSO report said the examples highlight the need to ensure patients are “properly informed about what the consent process involves, why it is important, and what their rights are”, adding: “Consent requires more than a ‘box-checking’ exercise.” IT is The Herald’s policy to correct errors as soon as we can and all corrections and clarifications will usually appear on this page.

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