Hospital blunder left woman with leaking bowel

A woman was left fighting life-threatening infections for months because of a blunder during routine surgery to remove her gallbladder.

Cheryl Gravil, 61, has been awarded £320,000 in damages after her bowel was mistakenly cut during the operation at Doncaster Royal Infirmary. She later developed sepsis and pneumonia.

The contents of her bowel were released into her body and she ended up intensive care after a procedure that was supposed to allow her to return home the same day.

Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has apologised to Mrs Gravil and admitted that the care she received "fell below the standards accepted".

The day surgery took place in July 2017 but Mrs Gravil felt extremely unwell afterwards.

She said: “I remember going to the toilet and being sick. I was really concerned because it was a dark green colour, like I'd never seen before, and I also had really bad stomach pains.”

Mrs Gravil said she was advised by nurses that her symptoms were common and it was likely just wind, but when her husband arrived that afternoon he found her crying in pain and he insisted that she be seen by a doctor.

“I remember being told I may need an X-ray and possibly surgery, and then the next thing I can remember is waking up in intensive care with all these tubes coming out of me and a colostomy bag” she said.

Mrs Gravil learned that the surgeon had nicked her bowel during the procedure and that the contents had been leaking out.

“I was later told that I’d have only survived another couple hours had I not been admitted to intensive care when I was."

The Trust accepted that had the mistake been spotted straight away and the damage repaired, Mrs Gravel would have only had to stay in hospital for around a week.

Acting executive medical director Dr Nick Mallaband said: "We sincerely apologise to Mrs Gravil for the harm caused during her treatment. We regret that the care provided fell below the standard expected, and for this, we are truly sorry."

Mrs Gravil said the operation had left her with a number of medical problems. She developed a hernia and has had to change her lifestyle to accommodate bowel and abdominal symptoms.

Dr Mallaband said the Trust had reviewed the incident thoroughly and implemented changes to minimise the risk of similar occurrences in the future.

"Patient safety remains our utmost priority, and we are committed to learning and improving to provide the highest standard of care," he added.

The out-of-court settlement was secured for Mrs Gravil by Hudgells Solicitors.

Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.