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Patient died after out of hours GP failed to notice heart attack symptoms
Barbara Mizen, 65, from Haslemere, in Surrey, died of a heart attack after the doctor misdiagnosed her with having a stomach upset, solicitors claimed.
Dr Mukhtar Hussain, who was working for out of hours service Thamesdoc at the time, diagnosed Mrs Mizen with gastritis. However, it is alleged that 3 days later, on 14th June 2005, she suffered a severe heart attack that could have been avoided or successfully treated if she had been correctly treated and sent directly to hospital. Her condition continued to deteriorate and her husband, Eric, then spoke to her regular GP who immediately called an ambulance. She died later that day at the Royal Surrey Country Hospital in Guildford.
Mr Mizen has accepted an undisclosed sum in an out-of-court settlement but Dr Hussain has not admitted liability. He said, "Although I am pleased to have reached a settlement of my claim, there is no amount of compensation that could be awarded for the loss of Barbara. Even though a settlement has been reached it is still without any admission of liability, I am distressed that there has still been no proper acknowledgement of the mistake that was made in Barbara's treatment".
Emma McCheyne of Penningtons Solicitors said, "This was a tragic case where Mrs Mizen and her husband were let down by the doctor responsible for Mrs Mizen's care. Mrs Mizen had clear symptoms that were not considered fully. If they had been, Mrs Mizen would have been referred and received the treatment that she needed. She added, "It should be pointed out that this settlement was achieved without any admission of liability on the part of Dr Hussain or his insurer".
Dr Hussain said in a statement, issued through his defence organisation, "I understand that this has been a very difficult time for Mr Mizen and his family, and I would like to take this opportunity once again to offer them my sincere condolences. It would be inappropriate for me to comment any further due to patient confidentiality".
Chief Executive of Thamesdoc, Stephen Price, said the case had been fully investigated and Dr Hussain was no longer working for them. He added, "We have never received a complaint in this case. It is very tragic that Mrs Mizen died two days after Dr Hussain saw her. All our doctors are personally vetted, all speak English fluently and all qualifications and references are checked and they go through a thorough induction".
This will raise further questions about the quality of out-of-hours services as the inquest into the death of David Gray, 70, in Cambridgeshire in February 2008, comes to a conclusion. GP out of hours services have been under scrutiny after it emerged Mr Gray died after he was administered with a massive overdose of painkillers by Dr Daniel Ubani who spoke little English and was on his first shift after flying in from Germany.
A government review into out of hours services led by Prof David Colin-Thome and Prof Steve Field is also due to be published once the coroner provides his conclusion.
Filed by Jessica Man © 2010 - Legal Advice Helpline
Published 05/02/2010
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