Yeovil District Hospital Faces Negligence Claim
Mrs Susan Spratt is to bring a claim for negligence against Yeovil District Hospital following the inquest on her husband’s death. Frederick Spratt contracted the lethal bacterial infection clostridium whilst a patient at the Hospital.
At the recent inquest the hospital’s Infection Control Policy Unit admitted failing to follow its own policies and treating Mr Spratt with a cheaper form of antibiotic than the accepted standard of treatment.
Mrs Spratt’s solicitor, Foot Anstey clinical negligence specialist Chris Thorne, said: "In the light of this failure in the standard of treatment provided to Mr Spratt, we are pursuing a formal claim against the Trust".
“The hospital claims a reduction in the number of clostridium difficile cases at the hospital in 2006 but clearly the hospital’s statement concerning their response to outbreaks of the infection at Yeovil does not accurately reflect the treatment received by Mr Spratt during his time as a patient”.
"It is essential all Health Trusts learn the lessons from tragic cases, such as Mr Spratt’s, and implement rigorous infection control policies at all times. The standard of cleanliness required by hospitals and the treatments available for infections such as this are now well understood. The important action is for Trusts to ensure their staff implement the policies rigorously and that they are not merely a paper exercise”.
Published 05/06/2007
