London – UK – 28th June, 2017: A former midwife who dedicated more than 30 years to working at Heartlands Hospital later died at the hospital after blunders following abdominal surgery.
Lynda Simmonds’ family has now won a six-figure pay-out four years after her death after the Heart of England NHS Trust admitted failings in her care.
Husband John is now calling on the Trust to ensure lessons are learnt after Lynda died following incomplete bowel surgery.
Emergency surgery to save her was also delayed by four days and she died on March 28 in 2013.
“We have been absolutely destroyed,” said John, 53, from Stechford. “Lynda was my best friend and my wife for over 20 years. She worked there as a midwife for 32 years- you would have thought that they would look after one of their own. We had booked to go back to Jamaica for our anniversary, as we’d been there for our honeymoon and we loved it there. Instead I took her back there to scatter her ashes.”
Gran-of-two Lynda visited her GP on March 20 2013 after suffering with stomach pains and constipation.
The 61-year-old was prescribed laxatives but after two days she was admitted to Heartlands Hospital where scans revealed she had a perforation of her colon. She underwent a six-hour operation and was sent to intensive care to recover, and later a ward. But it later became apparent that the surgery had not been completed correctly as fluid was leaking into her body from her small bowel. A drain was inserted but by the time Lynda was sent for an emergency colostomy procedure it was too late to save her.
She died the next day of multiple organ failure.
“After the surgery it did seem like Lynda was recovering OK, although she did need plenty of fluids,” recalls John, 53. “It even got to a point where I took her friend in to see her and she was able to laugh and joke with her. At that point I had no concerns about what was going on.”
On March 27, John’s birthday, he visited Lynda in the morning and as all seemed fine he planned to return on the evening. But shortly after getting home he received a call from the hospital saying that her condition had deteriorated and she needed emergency surgery.
He later learned that this was because the drain inserted after surgery was leaking.
John added: “I was stunned by the news but felt that at least she was in the best possible place. But, when she came out of surgery she was placed in intensive care and on life support machines. We knew at that point that she was in a critical condition.”
The next day, John and the family were advised that Lynda had developed faecal peritonitis and multiple organ failure. She passed away at 9pm. Now the family have won a settlement with the Trust, after instructing negligence lawyers at Irwin Mitchell in Birmingham.
John said: “We all miss Lynda so much and I still cannot believe how quickly her condition deteriorated. I’m still very angry and frustrated by what happened, particularly when it came to her final moments. I was told on the evening to get myself a coffee and while doing this a nurse ran up and told me I would miss the chance to say goodbye if I didn’t hurry back. When I did, the machines had already been switched off. I’m still devastated by this.”
He added: “While the settlement is welcome, no amount of money can ever bring her back. I just hope it means that lessons have been learnt and another family aren’t left devastated.”
Ashley Cocker, a specialist medical negligence lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, who represents Lynda’s family, said: “This is a terribly tragic case in which a much-loved wife, mother and grandmother died as a result of failings in care that could and should have been prevented. While nothing will ever change what has happened, we truly hope that this settlement will provide some vital financial support to Lynda’s family as they continue to come to terms with their loss.”
A Heart of England NHS Trust spokesman said: "We apologise to the family of Mrs Simmonds. We have agreed a settlement on this claim which was a complex surgical case where complications arose following necessary surgery."
Source:http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/tragic-midwife-died-hospital-following-13251331