gocompensate supports olympic torch bearer David Burgess 

as the flame comes to the East Midlands

Hospital targets may have killed patients, says Sleaford and North Hykeham MP

Patients may have died in Lincolnshire hospitals because of a Government's obsession with targets, an MP has claimed.

Stephen Phillips has seen leaked documents which he says seem to demonstrate a number of "grave concerns". Mr Phillips says the documents show hospital staff may have made mistakes because they were put under "increasing pressure".

The Sleaford and North Hykeham MP has written to Health Secretary Andrew Lansley claiming the Department of Health "rigorously enforced" targets, despite knowing the risks. He goes on to claim the documents suggest that former chief executive of United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust Gary Walker, was forced out of his role for "placing patient safety over bureaucratic box ticking".

And that another senior staff member quit because they were disillusioned with "unrealistic" targets from the previous government which "produced conditions of risk". In his letter to the Health Secretary, Mr Phillips writes: "You are well aware of the Stafford Hospital scandal in relation to which we await the final report of the public enquiry.

"The documents which I have seen give rise to at least the suspicion that there has been a scandal of similar proportions at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust.

"The fact that this does not appear to have been investigated, properly or at all, is not acceptable to me.

"Nor is it acceptable to my constituents, the vast majority of whom access their secondary care through ULHT."

Mr Phillips's letter relates to the enforcement of the national 18-week target in Lincolnshire. The target states that any patients referred to the hospital by their GP must commence treatment within 18 weeks.

The monitoring of this target was abolished by the Government in June 2010.

Mr Phillips, who is basing is accusations on leaked documents, has now demanded that all "relevant materials" be made public.

A statement from ULHT to the Echo this week said: "There is no suggestion that targets have any impact on numbers of patients dying at the trust.

"We meet regularly with the PCT to monitor our mortality rate and have a robust action plan in place to ensure the rate continues to reduce.

"A new management team has been in place at the trust since April 2011 and the top priority is patient safety.

"With regard to Gary Walker, the parties reached an amicable resolution of the differences between them and agreed not to comment further."

A Department of Health spokesperson said: "What matters most to patients is whether they get better or not.

"We do still expect the NHS to be held to account for things like waiting times, but what should come first every time is getting the best clinical results for patients.

"That's why we are introducing clinical outcome measures across the NHS - and why patients' clinical welfare should always come before meeting targets."

source: thisislincolnshire.co.uk

Consultation agreed into north-west London A&E closures

A 14-week public consultation will take place regarding plans to close accident and emergency departments in north-west London, starting 2 July.

The decision was made at a meeting of the Joint Committee of Primary Care Trusts at Westminster Central Hall earlier.

Four out of nine accident and emergency wards will close under NHS reorganisation plans.

The NHS says better care can be given by fewer, more specialised centres.

'Economies of scale'

Health bosses say there would be a £332m gap to plug by 2014/15 if no changes are made.

They said the proposals would give patients better care but it would mean the loss of accident and emergency departments at Charing Cross, Ealing, Hammersmith and Central Middlesex hospitals.

Critics of the plan claim patients will have to travel further for treatment.

Councillor Julian Bell, leader of Ealing Council, said: "It will cause local people, particularly those who are the poorest, significant problems in getting to hospitals, supporting their relatives and even, potentially, it could cost lives if those journey times are impacted in terms of rush hour traffic."

Andrew Slaughter, Labour MP for Hammersmith, said there was "nothing wrong with economies of scale if you can join forces and do something cheaper that provides more resources, but what we're seeing is a levelling down".

Dr Michael Anderson, of NHS North West London, said: "I can point you to hospitals in west London and beyond London where because people are so frightened of change nothing happens until they can no longer be supported and they are closed at short notice.

"This process allows a discussion, informed comment and hopefully decisions to be made in advance rather than waiting till you can no longer support various hospitals."

source: bbc.co.uk

Plymouth biker dies in early hours crash in North Devon

A PLYMOUTH man has been killed in a road accident in the early hours of this morning, Tuesday.

At around 2.20am today a man riding a BMW bike crashed on Exeter Road at the Tesco roundabout, just past Wrafton heading towards Braunton.

He was found at the scene and was quickly taken by land ambulance to North Devon District Hospital but was pronounced dead by medical staff at around 8.30 am.

He has not yet been formally identified but is thought to be a man in his early thirties from the Plymouth area. Next of kin have been informed.

The road is expected to be closed for several hours while collision investigators carry out their work.

Drivers are advised to follow local diversions. HGVs are being advised to go via Barnstaple or South Molton if heading towards the Illfracombe or Woolacombe area.

A driver of a VW Bora was arrested near to the incident after providing a positive breath test. This man is currently in police custody assisting police with their enquiries. It is not yet clear if these two incidents are connected.

A police spokesman said: “We’d like to hear from any witnesses who were in the vicinity of the collision and saw anything that may help police with their investigation. In particular we’d like to hear from or identify the driver of a light blue VW transporter type van, with side windows, that we understand was in the vicinity at around the time of the incident.

Anyone with any information is asked to call 101 and quote log number DCP-20120626-0057.

source: thisisplymouth.co.uk

Hunstanton-based charity claims hospital threatened to turn off girl’s life-support machine after NatWest computer glitch stopped cash transfer

A Hunstanton-based charity sparked into action at the weekend after fears were raised staff at a hospital in Mexico would switch off a British girl’s life-support machine because a crucial cash transfer was delayed.

Little Olivia Downie, who suffers from the aggressive form of childhood cancer Neuroblastoma, was flown to Mexico last month for innovative treatment which is not available on the NHS.

But the last-ditch treatment to save the seven-year-old’s life failed and Olivia was put on a ventilator last week after one of her lungs collapsed.

Familes Against Neuroblastoma, based on the West Norfolk coast, funded the treatment at Hospital Angeles and is currently raising money to fund her current medical costs and to fly her home to die.

But the RBS/NatWest bank meltdown last week stopped a cash transfer from the charity to the Mexican hospital and Olivia’s parents Steven and Lauren claim they were told their daughter’s ventilator would be switched off if a bill was not paid this week.

They then contacted Linza Corp, founder of the charity, who put in frantic calls to NatWest, where the charity’s account is held, Downing Street and the British Embassy in Mexico.

Ms Corp said: “Olivia’s mum was quite hysterical when she called us on Friday. She told me nurses came in and tried to take them into a side room so that they could terminate her life-support.

“I checked our online banking service but I couldn’t see if any of the funds had gone out and couldn’t do anything. I then tried to get through to our telephone banking service but couldn’t so we were pretty desperate.

“As we didn’t know how long we had, I put in calls to Downing Street, the police here and the British Embassy over in Mexico.

“Eventually I got hold of somebody at NatWest, who acted quickly and made sure that money was sent to America to then be sent to Mexico, so everything is going to be OK.”

Officials at Hospital Angeles have denied that the threat had been made but confirmed that the family were behind in their payments - believed to be in the region of £3,500.

Olivia, from Scotland, was diagnosed with stage four neuroblastoma three years ago. Doctors found a tumour the size of a grapefruit beside her kidney and she was given only a one in five chance of survival.

The family have previously flown to Germany so she could receive immunotherapy and went to the Hope 4 Cancer Institute in Mexico to try photodynamic therapy which her parents hoped would saver her life.

Last night, the fighting fund for Olivia had reached £150,000 - enough to pay for an air ambulance to bring Olivia home.

Ms Corp added: “It is hell on earth for them over in Mexico. We are ready to bring her home now but she has not been able to fly home. We are waiting for her to stabilise and then we will fly her back.”

Linza Corp started the charity in June 2009 after her son Max lost his battle with the cancer. He was just 17 months old and was due to fly to the US for life-saving treatment.

The charity helps other parents generate funding for the treatment her son was unable to receive.

Donations can be made at www.justgiving.com/olivia-downie-appeal

source: edp24.co.uk

Wolferstans joins gocompensate.com

One of the largest teams of specialist personal injury and medical negligence lawyers in the South West has today joined the gocompensate.com panel for Personal Injury Devon, Medical Negligence Devon, Personal Injury Cornwall and Medical Negligence Cornwall.


Wolferstans are a confident modern legal firm committed to getting the best possible results for their clients and invest in high quality people and new technology to give a proactive and efficient service that delivers value. 


In this their 200th year providing legal services to the South West, the firm are proud to be making a difference in the local community.

Each month in 2012, Wolferstans will aim to donate £2,012 to a charity that is either based in or has an effect on the lives of those in Plymouth and the South West. We will be picking 6 wonderful and important charities that share our love of the local area and that have projects that we think will make a difference in 2012.

The nominated charity for May and June is Jeremiah’s Journey, a charity that offers support and information to children and their families who have experienced or are anticipating the death of someone special. If we raise £2,012 in May and June, we will have made a real difference to helping them and the children and families they support. 

Doctors strike will harm patients says Lansley

"Doctors are at best inconveniencing patients and at worst harming patients" said Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley in relation to the strike action taken by many doctors throughout the UK today.


Lansley went on to say that the pension pot is a NHS pension pot which is to be shared with other health professionals in the health sector and that the government reforms are aimed at making the pension system fair for all.


"Doctors entering the profession today are looking at a pension of £68,000 a year when they retire at 68" the Health Secretary went on to say.


When the strike action was announced gocompensate.com issued a press release in connection with claiming compensation for any harm caused by the strike action. 


The Health Secretary has conceded that this action will "at worst harm patients".


If your condition has been exacerbated by any delay in surgery/treatment as a result of this strike action then our panel of medical negligence specialists will be able to advise you.


gocompensate.com connect you with specialist medical negligence solicitors throughout the UK and do not take a referral fee for connecting you with your regional specialist.

Top doctor's chilling claim: The NHS kills off 130,000 elderly patients every year

NHS doctors are prematurely ending the lives of thousands of elderly hospital patients because they are difficult to manage or to free up beds, a senior consultant claimed yesterday.

Professor Patrick Pullicino said doctors had turned the use of a controversial ‘death pathway’ into the equivalent of euthanasia of the elderly.

He claimed there was often a lack of clear evidence for initiating the Liverpool Care Pathway, a method of looking after terminally ill patients that is used in hospitals across the country.

It is designed to come into force when doctors believe it is impossible for a patient to recover and death is imminent.

It can include withdrawal of treatment – including the provision of water and nourishment by tube – and on average brings a patient to death in 33 hours.

There are around 450,000 deaths in Britain each year of people who are in hospital or under NHS care. Around 29 per cent – 130,000 – are of patients who were on the LCP.

Professor Pullicino claimed that far too often elderly patients who could live longer are placed on the LCP and it had now become an ‘assisted death pathway rather than a care pathway’.

He cited ‘pressure on beds and difficulty with nursing confused or difficult-to-manage elderly patients’ as factors. 

Professor Pullicino revealed he had personally intervened to take a patient off the LCP who went on to be successfully treated.

He said this showed that claims they had hours or days left are ‘palpably false’. 

In the example he revealed a 71-year-old who was admitted to hospital suffering from pneumonia and epilepsy was put on the LCP by a covering doctor on a weekend shift.

Professor Pullicino said he had returned to work after a weekend to find the patient unresponsive and his family upset because they had not agreed to place him on the LCP.

‘I removed the patient from the LCP despite significant resistance,’ he said.

‘His seizures came under control and four weeks later he was discharged home to his family,’ he said.

Professor Pullicino, a consultant neurologist for East Kent Hospitals and Professor of Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Kent, was speaking to the Royal Society of Medicine in London. 

He said: ‘The lack of evidence for initiating the Liverpool Care Pathway makes it an assisted death pathway rather than a care pathway.

‘Very likely many elderly patients who could live substantially longer are being killed by the LCP. 

‘Patients are frequently put on the pathway without a proper analysis of their condition. 

‘Predicting death in a time frame of three to four days, or even at any other specific time, is not possible scientifically. 

This determination in the LCP leads to a self-fulfilling prophecy. The personal views of the physician or other medical team members of perceived quality of life or low likelihood of a good outcome are probably central in putting a patient on the LCP.’

He added: ‘If we accept the Liverpool Care Pathway we accept that euthanasia is part of the standard way of dying as it is now associated with 29 per cent of NHS deaths.’

The LCP was developed in the North West during the 1990s and recommended to hospitals by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence in 2004. 

Medical criticisms of the Liverpool Care Pathway were voiced nearly three years ago. 

Experts including Peter Millard, emeritus professor of geriatrics at the University of London, and Dr Peter Hargreaves, palliative care consultant at St Luke’s cancer centre in Guildford, Surrey, warned of ‘backdoor euthanasia’ and the risk that economic factors were being brought into the treatment of vulnerable patients.

In the example of the 71-year-old, Professor Pullicino revealed he had given the patient another 14 months of life by demanding the man be removed from the LCP.

Professor Pullicino said the patient was an Italian who spoke poor English, but was living with a ‘supportive wife and daughter’. He had a history of cerebral haemorrhage and subsequent seizures.

Professor Pullicino said: ‘I found him deeply unresponsive on a Monday morning and was told he had been put on the LCP. He was on morphine via a syringe driver.’ He added: ‘I removed the patient from the LCP despite significant resistance.’

The patient’s extra 14 months of life came at considerable cost to the NHS and the taxpayer, Professor Pullicino indicated.

He said he needed extensive support with wheelchair, ramps and nursing. 

After 14 months the patient was admitted to a different hospital with pneumonia and put on the LCP. The man died five hours later. 

A Department of Health spokesman said: ‘The Liverpool Care Pathway is not euthanasia and we do not recognise these figures. The pathway is recommended by NICE and has overwhelming support from clinicians – at home and abroad – including the Royal College of Physicians.

‘A patient’s condition is monitored at least every four hours and, if a patient improves, they are taken off the Liverpool Care Pathway and given whatever treatments best suit their new needs.’

source: dailymail.co.uk

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2161869/Top-doctors-chilling-claim-The-NHS-kills-130-000-elderly-patients-year.html#ixzz1yLLF7FU1

Swindon disease legacy takes its toll

DOZENS of men and women are dying every year from ‘Swindon Disease’ as the deadly legacy of workplace exposure to asbestos continues to takes its toll.

The most recent figures show 107 people have died from industrial-related illnesses in Swindon and Wiltshire in the past three years alone.

The region is part of a wider timebomb which, under the worst-case scenario, could claim 2,100 lives nationally at its peak in 2016.

The building material was so prevalent at Swindon’s railway works and other factories that mesothelioma, an asbestos-related cancer, and other related illnesses were nicknamed after the town.

Former employees have described how fibres of the chemical used to blow around like “snow” at the works, which closed in March 1986. Many remained healthy into retirement only to be struck down a couple of years after diagnosis.

Years of legal battles culminated in a landmark decision in March which gave victims and their families a chance to win compensation from firms that exposed them to the substance.

The Supreme Court ruled insurance liability was triggered from the time an employee came into contact with the substance, rather than the point at which symptoms appeared.

The decision will pave the way for hundreds of new claims, judging by figures obtained from the Wiltshire coroner’s office under the Freedom of Information Act.

Last year 26 men and four women died from industrial diseases, compared with 37 men and eight women in 2010 and 28 men and four women in 2009.

The majority of cases stem from employees breathing in fibres in industrial workplaces, but there are other sources of contact adding to the figures.

Source: swindonadvertiser.co.uk

(Edited for claimsnews.co.uk - Read the original here)

PIP implants not toxic - final report

The final report into the PIP breast implant scandal has concluded that the gel material does not cause a long-term threat to human health.

It says the implants, which were made with unauthorised silicone filler are not toxic nor carcinogenic.

The review, led by Prof Sir Bruce Keogh, the NHS medical director, said they do have double the rupture rate of other implants.

Around 47,000 women in the UK have had the implants fitted.

Around 95% were fitted privately. A minority of operations were carried out on the NHS, mostly for breast reconstruction following cancer.

In January Prof Keogh's team concluded there was insufficient evidence to recommend the routine removal of PIP implants. But it recognised the concern that the issue was causing.

It found there was no link between PIP implants and cancer, and the evidence on increased rupture rates was inconclusive.

His final report has just been published.

Prof Keogh said women had faced an "incredibly worrying time".

He said that repeated tests in many countries have "shown that the implants are not toxic and therefore we do not believe they are a threat to the long-term health of women who have PIP implants".

He added: "We have however found that these implants are substandard, when compared to other implants and that they are more likely to rupture. We would therefore advise that women who have symptoms of a rupture - for example tenderness, soreness or lumpiness - should speak to their surgeon or GP."

The president of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, Fazel Fatah, said: "Despite rigorous testing showing no long-term danger to human health from the individual chemicals in the gel, the fact remains that PIPs are significantly more likely to rupture and leak and, therefore, cause physical reactions in an unacceptable proportion of the patients.

"We agree with the report findings that anxiety itself is a form of health risk and thus it is entirely reasonable for women to have the right to opt for removal - regardless of whether there has been rupture."

The advice for patients has not changed.

Throughout the UK any women who had PIP implants fitted on the NHS can get them removed and replaced free of charge.

In Wales the NHS will also replace those of private patients. In England and Scotland the NHS will remove implants of private patients but not replace them.

Last month, a separate review led by Health Minister Lord Howe examined the role of the Department of Health and the UK regulator the MHRA.

It said serious lessons must be learned and questioned how well women with these implants were informed about the risks.

source: bbc.co.uk

Boy, 6, with cerebral palsy takes first steps after family raise £50,000 for life-changing surgery in America

A little boy born with cerebral palsy has taken his first steps just days after a life-changing operation in America.

AJ Tighe, from Newton Heath, Manchester, was unable to walk unaided because of his condition but less than three weeks after a pioneering operation in Missouri he has defied the odds by bravely taking his first strides. 

Members of the public helped six-year-old AJ’s family raise the £50,000 needed for the four-hour operation following a 10-month fundraising campaign. His mother Leeanne, who is terrified of heights, even managed a 300ft bungee jump as part of their mission.

Doctors have said AJ’s progress since the operation has been ‘remarkable’ and proud mother Leeanne said watching her son take his first unaided steps had made all the hard work worthwhile.

She said: 'It was an unbelievable moment, it was everything we have dreamed of for so long and something we thought we might never see.

'He’s a stubborn thing who doesn’t like to be told he can’t do something and that’s how it started. He began to get up and his cousin was telling him not to because he couldn’t walk without his sticks and he just said ‘yes I can, I’ll show you’.'

'He took two steps, then got back up and did four and in the end managed to walk about 15 steps over to his grandma. It was amazing.

'He was so proud of himself afterwards and it was great to be able to see his face because he knew he’d done something really important.'

Andrew, known as AJ, has a form of Cerebral Palsy known as Spastic Diplegia, which accounts for 80 per cent of cases. It is caused when brain damage occurs in the outer layer of the brain and affects the legs more than the arms.

AJ underwent a series of operations in May to straighten and strengthen his legs at the St Louis Children’s Hospital in Missouri last month.

The procedure, known as Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy, involves cutting the nerves in the spine to release the spasticity (tension) in AJs muscles, allowing him to move far more freely. 

Although the operation has just become available at a hospital in Bristol, funding it not widely available.

Doctors expect AJ to be regularly walking unaided within six months and physiotherapy to help develop his leg muscles could take up to two years.

However, following NHS cuts the family now have to raise up to an additional £8,000 for two years of private treatment with a specialist nurse.

The family have pledged to hand any money left over from the rehabilitation costs to another child with cerebral palsy looking to fly to the States.

For more information, or to donate, visit ajsop.co.uk

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2160946/Boy-6-cerebral-palsy-takes-steps-family-raise-50-000-life-changing-surgery-America.html#ixzz1y9WRigFJ


source: dailymail.co.uk

Hospital must have helipad claims top trauma surgeon

Addenbrooke's must have a helipad on site to prevent further risk to patients, says a leading trauma surgeon.

Dr Gareth Davies, consultant trauma surgeon at the Royal London Hospital, told the News at a hospital like Addenbrooke’s – the region’s major trauma centre – a helicopter landing site could be a life-saver.

Currently, air ambulance helicopters have to land on Gog Magog Golf Course, around two miles from the hospital, and patients – some in a life-threatening condition – have to be put into an ambulance to get to the hospital.

Dr Davies said: “One thing we do know is that when we move patients in and out of ambulances, that is when things go wrong – that is widely accepted in emergency medicine.

“The time when patients are at risk – when drips might fall out or drains become unconnected – is when you are moving people in and out of ambulances or out of a bed.

“Anything that minimises that is within our interests – having a landing site at a hospital gets round those known issues.”

He added: “The secondary transfer is not good for the patient.

“It is vital for anyone in the region to have the same access to health care wherever possible, whether you are three or four miles from the hospital or 100 miles from the hospital.

“The helicopter is absolutely vital in keeping that opportunity open to certain patient groups. They need the speed not just for the team getting to them but also to get them to the hospital, and not having a landing site is adding time to that journey.”

Dr Davies had earlier addressed a conference in Melbourn on scaling up emergency medical services at night – the East Anglian Air Ambulance team will start night-flying in September – to bring night-time care in line with daytime provision.

Dan Poulter, MP for central Suffolk, also attended the conference and said Addenbrooke’s trauma centre was “not fit for purpose” without a helipad.

Politicians including Health Secretary Andrew Lansley have urged the hospital to get a helipad as soon as possible – Addenbrooke’s says one will be provided on the roof of a new A&E department when it is built.

In 2006, the Chariots of Fire charity race in Cambridge raised £75,000 for a helipad to be built nearer the hospital. With interest, that has grown to £82,000.

A spokesman for Addenbrooke’s said: “The focus of this debate must be on what is best for patients and should be about how best to provide an integrated trauma service that covers all forms of transportation, rather than about the location of one helipad.

“We are working towards a permanent helipad which will mean there is no longer a requirement for a land ambulance transfer.

“We have every confidence in the views of clinical experts skilled in the care of trauma patients, that the system we are operating now provides a safe, high-quality service.”

source: cambridge-news.co.uk

New panel firm in West Sussex

Coole & Haddock join gocompensate as the regional specialist personal injury and medical negligence solicitors in West Sussex.


At Coole & Haddock solicitors we have been providing legal services to clients since 1898.  The firm operates from distinctive offices in Worthing and Horsham.  


During that time what remains constant is change and we have embraced that change.  Our flexibility and a willingness to listen and tailor our advice to our clients’ needs is what makes us different.


What does not change is our mission to provide at all times a high standard of service to our clients.


Our clients approach us with issues and leave with solutions.

Open verdict on death of Graham Toy cycling from pub

A question mark hangs over the death of a cyclist who was found lying face down in a shallow river running through a city.

The body of father-of-two Graham William Toy, 64, who was married to an accountant, was discovered in the river in Truro with his mountain bicycle on top of him.

An inquest heard yesterday that Mr Toy was cycling along the path known locally at "the leats" when he fell off and plunged around five feet into the water below that was around four inches deep.

A post-mortem examination found Mr Toy died from a cerebral contusion and a fractured skull.

Blood tests showed him to have 148mg of alcohol per 100ml in his system – the legal drink limit is 80mg.

Emma Carlyon, coroner for Cornwall, recorded an open verdict after hearing evidence from witnesses an "aggressive drunk" man may have hurled threats at Mr Toy shortly before he died.

The court heard Mr Toy was involved in a car accident in 1992 which killed three of his best friends and he suffered serious head injuries.

In a statement read out to the court the former labourer's brother, Raymond Toy, said he began to drink heavily after the crash.

Mr Toy said: "The accident left him with brain damage.

"Doctors told him if he had one more blow to the head he would not survive it."

On August 19 last year Mr Toy spent five hours drinking in Truro, downing lager and cider, before mounting his bicycle to ride seven miles home to Shortlanesend on the edge of the city.

Student Abbie Chapman said she and a friend saw Mr Toy struggling to ride his bicycle along the leats between 6.30pm and 6.40pm as he was heading away from the city.

She said a man standing outside the nearby Wig and Pen pub began shouting "I'll get you" towards herself and Mr Toy.

Miss Chapman said: "He (the man shouting) didn't look very nice and was shouting at us – I don't know who exactly he was shouting at."

By 8pm Mr Lang's body was found and police who attended the scene said it was still warm although attempts by paramedics to resuscitate him failed. He and his bicycle were facing towards the city centre, the court heard.

Detective Constable Chris Panther said he did not believe Mr Toy was the victim of foul play.

He said: "There was no evidence in my opinion to suggest third party involvement. I believe he fell off the path, hit his head on the wall while under the influence of alcohol."

Before recording an open verdict Dr Carlyon said: "While everything points to an accident we just don't know all the circumstances or if another person was involved."

source: thisiscornwall.co.uk

Electrician developed terminal cancer from asbestos in Sandringham tunnels

A retired electrician has won a huge compensation payout after being diagnosed with terminal cancer caused by being exposed to lethal asbestos at Sandringham House.

Harold Hart, 67, was exposed to the deadly dust while working at the Queen's residence in 1985 for electrical contractors G E Child and Son.

Grandfather-of-ten Harold used to have to walk through the underground walkways and tunnels under the house where asbestos debris was stored.

Harold also came into contact with asbestos in the former Dow Chemicals factory in Kings Lynn in 1984 and at the Elephant and Castle Cinema in London for Associated British Cinemas, now Cineworld South East Cinemas, between October 1963 and January 1964.

He successfully pursued legal action against Associated British Cinemas and G E Child and Sons Ltd and has received an undisclosed settlement to secure his financial future.

Father-of-three Harold yesterday said Sandringham House was a "fantastic, grand place to work", but no one warned him of the risk of asbestos.

He said: "It was absolutely devastating to find out that I was suffering from mesothelioma.

"I'm constantly breathless and in pain and I'm unable to do the things I loved, such as fishing, although on a good day I still manage to enjoy my woodturning hobby in my workshop.

"It has also affected my ability to play with my grandchildren, which is upsetting and frustrating.

"I hope my case highlights the dangers of this deadly dust and companies take precautions to protect their staff in future so that other families don't have to go through the same ordeal.

"I'm relieved a settlement has now been agreed and my family and I will be taken care of financially, particularly as I am now unable to work.

"Neither employer warned me about the dangers of asbestos nor was I given any protective clothing or a face mask.

"I recall coming into contact with asbestos while working as an electrician at Sandringham House for G E Child and Son.

"I used the basements and underground walkways and tunnels to access the areas in which I was required to work.

"These areas were dusty with little or no ventilation and there was a lot of crumbly asbestos debris on the floor.

"It was a fantastic, grand place to work but I was never told about the dangers of asbestos."

Harold, who lives with his partner of 20 years in Kings Lynn, Norfolk, first noticed his health deteriorating in 2009 when he rapidly lost weight and found it difficult to breathe.

He was diagnosed with mesothelioma in November 2009 after doctors found his right lung had collapsed.

Harold had to give up his most recent job working as a driver for Lynn Star Distributions and Logistics Ltd in Kings Lynn, Norfolk, and his illness prevents him from enjoying his favourite hobby fishing.

He is being given chemotherapy to help control the cancer, but there is no cure.

Now he and his family have received a "substantial" payout, with the help of asbestos specialists, which they say will give them security for the future.

Harold carried out electrical installation and maintenance work at Sandringham House for two days in 1985.

He used the basements and underground walkways and tunnels, which were very dusty with little or no ventilation, to access the area where he was required to work.

The asbestos debris was very crumbly and gave off dust as it was trodden under foot and Harrold was told that some of this asbestos had been dumped there after removal from other parts of the house.

Harrold added: "My job for G E Child & Son Limited also included working as an electrician at a large chemical production factory called Dow Chemicals, where I worked close to men who were required to remove old pipes covered in asbestos lagging. I was exposed to the asbestos on a daily basis for a year.

"Part of my job as a projectionist for Associated British Cinemas was to check the lighting and change any faulty bulbs. To access the lighting I would have to walk along a catwalk within the ceiling void, which was lined with asbestos, every day."

Alice Humphreys, an asbestos related disease expert, yesterday (Thurs) said the settlement will help to cover Harold's loss of earnings and future care.

She said: "The last few years have been very difficult for the Hart family as they come to terms with Harold's illness, which has left him feeling constantly breathless, weak and unable to do the job and hobbies he loved.

"As the delay between exposure to asbestos dust and the onset of symptoms of mesothelioma is more than 30 years in most cases, people like Mr Hart are only now discovering their health has been affected as a result.

"Mesothelioma is an asbestos related cancer for which there is sadly no cure. Mr Hart's case is not isolated and it's always sad to learn of such exposure to asbestos when, even in the 1960s and 1970s, employers knew of the risks associated with the dangers of inhaling lethal fibres.

"No amount of money can make up for his illness, but the settlement will provide him, and his family, with some financial security."

source: telegraph.co.uk

Police car collision in Liverpool - investigation launched

Accident investigations have begun after a police patrol car was involved in a road traffic incident that closed part of the Liverpool Inner Ring Road at Leeds Street late on Wednesday night.

A Ford Focus patrol car was involved in an collision with a white saloon at the traffic light controlled junction of Leeds Street and Pall Mall, at around 10pm.

It was not known whether the police car had been responding to an emergency call at the time of the incident.

Early indications were that any injuries suffered were not serious but witnesses said that ambulances had taken a number of people to hospital.


source: clickliverpool.com

New group to fund-raise for PIP implant removals

WOMEN who had potentially dangerous breast implants will be able to get help to pay for operations to remove them from a new support group.

The group’s members all have French PIP implants, which an investigation last year revealed contain industrial silicone and may be more prone to rupture and leakage.

Now, after struggling to get help from clinics or on the NHS, they have united to fundraise together to help others pay for implants to be removed and replaced.

The support group began on Facebook and includes Rotherham writer and poet Carol Robson and Katrina Mirfin Allison and Wendy Williams, also from Rotherham.

A series of fundraising events has already been held.

“The money we raise will help any women who come forward for help,” said Carol.

“If they can raise half of the amount needed we will match it.

“It’s not just for women in the group because many have already paid for it themselves to be done.

“We hope to keep bringing in other women to help them.”

SOURCE: rotherhamadvertiser.co.uk

Edinburgh Legionnaires' disease cases rise further

Health officials have said the number of confirmed and suspected cases of Legionnaires' disease in Edinburgh has risen to 40.

Of these, one person has died, 24 remain in intensive care and two others have been discharged from hospital.

NHS Lothian has said it could take until the weekend before the extent of the outbreak is known.

Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said the suspected source was environmental contamination.

She said early indications suggested the outbreak was the result of a contaminated cloud being emitted from a cooling tower in the south west of the city.

Officials are now liaising with the Met Office to analyse the impact of temperature and wind speed on plumes from the towers.

So far in the outbreak there have been a total of 21 confirmed and 19 suspected cases.

Dr Duncan McCormick, chair of NHS Lothian's incident management team, said the majority of those affected were men aged between their mid-30s and late-80s.

He said two patients that had been "seriously unwell" had now been discharged, which was "really encouraging" and that the "treatment was working very well".

Although the number of suspected cases has risen, he said the numbers in intensive care had decreased.

Ms Sturgeon described the outbreak as a "significant event" for NHS Lothian and said the government had activated their emergency plan.

She said they expected to see a decline in the number of cases in the next five to six days as sixteen cooling towers in the city had been treated with chemicals to kill the bacteria.

However, Dr McCormick said, although they were "confident" they had identified the source, because of its incubation period, more cases of Legionnaires' disease were expected.

The Scottish government said they would be issuing information leaflets in the affected area of Edinburgh.

The BBC understands that tests have been carried out at four sites.

They include the cooling towers at;

• North British Distillery, Wheatfield Road, Gorgie

• McFarlan Smith (pharmaceuticals), Wheatfield Road, Gorgie

• Aegon (insurance), where towers are used to cool servers, in Lochside Crescent, South Gyle

• and Burtons Foods, Bankhead Place, Sighthill

A meeting of its resilience committee took place on Wednesday to co-ordinate the official response to the outbreak.

Dr McCormick told BBC Scotland he expected instances of the disease to peak in the coming days.

He said: "The incubation period of Legionnaires' disease is between two and 14 days but the average is five or six days, so we're expecting to have more cases over the next few days.

"But if our evidence and reaction have been correct, we hope to have removed the source through our shock treatment of these cooling towers.

"We'd hope that by the weekend - five or six days after the treatment, we'll start to see a decline in cases."

The 16 towers were identified as a potential source of the outbreak following the first reported case on Thursday last week.

They were chemically treated on Sunday night and Monday morning.

Dr McCormick said that people living in the Gorgie, Dalry and Saughton areas were generally at low risk.

He added: "I want to give that reassuring message.

"However, people who fall into certain risk groups, these are males who are adults, who have an alcohol, drinking habit and have an underlying illness such as diabetes, or heart disease or lung disease - these people are at greater risk.

"These people should be very much aware that if they start feeling symptoms of flu-like illness, together with diarrhoea, cough and confusion, they should be consulting their GP or NHS 24 as soon as possible."

Dr McCormick said there was no threat to the city's public water supply.

He added: "The public water supply in Edinburgh is extremely closely monitored and in addition it's not possible to contract Legionnaires' Disease through drinking water.

"It's contracted through the inhalation of water vapour in the form of an aerosol and that doesn't happen through drinking water supplies."

Martin Donaghy, the medical director of Health Protection Scotland, said the information so far suggested the outbreak contained the most common strain of the disease.

He added: "The secret with Legionnaires disease is to get treated with the right antibiotic as soon as possible."

source: bbc.co.uk