A 43-year old man who was dying of blood poisoning was told by a NHS 24 nurse that he was suffering from heartburn and was recommended to take popular heartburn remedy Gaviscon and drink cold milk.
John Willock, from Erskine in Renfrewshire, had slipped on ice on Christmas Eve 2009 and started experiencing problems soon after, losing his life five days later. Willock reportedly had a 60 to 85 percent chance of survival had he visited a doctor when he first revealed his symptoms to his partner. He made his first call to NHS 24 on December 27 complaining of severe pain but was told that he had indigestion and was asked to take Gaviscon.
Heartburn Symptom Evaluation
Heartburn is a symptom that occurs due to irritation of the food pipe either due to acid reflux or direct contact with spicy and irritant foods.
Advertisement
The attending nurse Fiona McCulloch had reportedly marked the wrong box on her diagnostic screen and the investigation also found that his first call were not logged properly which meant that his subsequent calls were treated as his first and was repeatedly asked to visit a doctor within 36 hours.
Sherriff Colin Pettigrew also said that had McCulloch marked that he was suffering from 'persistent upper abdominal discomfort', an ambulance would have been quickly dispatched. Another call handler admitted that she was 'tired' when she took Willock's call.
![Reflux Esophagitis]( "Reflux Esophagitis")
Reflux esophagitis is a condition causing inflammation of the lining of the esophagus. This happens when there is a upward movement of the acid from the stomach due to weakness of the esophageal sphincter.
"The findings support the family view that there were significant failings on the part of call handlers and nurse advisers involved in John's care. While there has been evidence of improvements since his death, the family hope that NHS 24 further [reviews its] practices as suggested by the sheriff so that lessons are learned", Willock's family said in a statement.
Source: Medindia
Reflux Esophagitis
Reflux esophagitis is a condition causing inflammation of the lining of the esophagus. This happens when there is a upward movement of the acid from the stomach due to weakness of the esophageal sphincter.
Advertisement
"The findings support the family view that there were significant failings on the part of call handlers and nurse advisers involved in John's care. While there has been evidence of improvements since his death, the family hope that NHS 24 further [reviews its] practices as suggested by the sheriff so that lessons are learned", Willock's family said in a statement.
Source: Medindia
GERD
This condition occurs due to the reflux of hydrochloric acid of the stomach into the oesophagus
Advertisement
Advertisement
|
Advertisement
Recommended Readings
Latest General Health News
Implementing the Hawk Data Pro system as a passive surveillance tool enabled us to record an ongoing rabies outbreak within a major Indian metropolis.
The Pakistan Ministry has announced the commencement of a nationwide polio vaccination campaign beginning on October 2, aiming to immunize more children.
In a tragic incident, a woman in the US experienced the loss of all her limbs as a result of a bacterial outbreak linked to the consumption of contaminated fish.
FluMos-v2, a unique universal influenza vaccine candidate, undergoing a phase 1 trial at NIH, increases recipients' immunity against many influenza viruses.
In Pakistan, the polio campaign focuses on more than 270,000 children under the age of five years, residing in areas with insufficient vaccine coverage.
