Cancelled Procedures and Medical Negligence
January 13, 2021
Cancelled procedures can sometimes happen. However, if they have an effect of the person receiving treatment, cancelled procedures can lead to medical negligence. At the start of the current lockdown, there was no change in procedures at many hospitals up and down the country. All procedures were planned to carry on despite the pandemic. However, according to a recent report, this could be changing soon.
All hospitals in Worcestershire have stopped non-urgent operations as the cases of COVID-19 are rising again. Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust brought in the temporary measure. This is due to the cases rising in the area. Planned non-urgent treatments were stopped to tackle an increase in urgent and emergency procedures. The trust has said that the appointments will be booked in again as soon as possible.
This may mean that further NHS trusts follow suit and stop procedures. With the cases as high as they are, it is possible. However no other trusts have said whether they will have to stop procedures.
Cancelled Procedures and Medical Negligence
We all know that sometimes cancellations happen. There can be many reasons for this, and sometimes, the cancellations do not have adverse effects. If the cancellation of your procedure affects your recovery time or makes your condition worse, however, then you may be able to make a claim.
We have previously written about women with breast cancer not having scans in the last lockdown, and this is an example of something that may unfortunately happen again in this lockdown. With the cases of COVID-19 rising again, there may be cancellations of other procedures. Whilst this may not have adverse effects in most cases, there are still some cases where this cancellation may affect the condition. This includes the cancellation making the condition worse or adding to your recovery time. If this affects you or a loved one, then you may be able to make a claim.
Claiming on Behalf of Someone Else
It may be the case that someone else may have been waiting for a procedure, such as a child or an elderly relative. If this is the case, and the cancellation affects them, then you may be able to claim on their behalf.
There are certain rules for claiming on behalf of someone else though. These include claiming for a child. If cancellations happen to a child, then you may be able to claim for them if they are under 18. If they are over 18 then they may have to make the claim themselves. In the case of an elderly relative, if they do not have the mental capacity to claim themselves, then you may be able to make a claim on their behalf.
How We Can Help
Here at The Medical Negligence Experts, we work with solicitors who have years of experience dealing with all manner of medical negligence cases. This includes cancellations of procedures. If this has affected you or a loved one, contact us by filling in our contact form, or by calling us on 01614138761 to speak to one of our friendly knowledgeable advisors.