Premature Discharge following C-section / Missed Diagnosis Walk in Centre

The TSP Clinical Negligence team recently helped Miss Q with her clinical negligence claim when she was prematurely discharged from hospital after the birth of her daughter.

Miss Q gave birth to her daughter by caesarean section. Three days later she was discharged without being seen by a Consultant or doctor. She felt very unwell, was shivery and had a temperature and the caesarean wound was moist and offensive. No antibiotics were prescribed.  She attended the Walk in Centre that same afternoon about the poor state of the wound, but the doctor, after noting her high temperature, sent her away telling her to wait and see if there was any deterioration.

The next day she was visited at home by a midwife who reported that the wound was offensive with areas of black skin and was very moist and raw in others. No further action was taken.

The next day the wound was oozing fluid and offensive in smell. Miss Q attended her GP surgery at which point the wound had split open and had a pungent odour. The GP made an immediate referral to hospital.

Miss Q was admitted immediately and underwent various surgical procedures to clean out the wound and rid it of infection. She had a pump fitted to clean the wound. Due to the delay in recognising and treating the wound infection, Miss Q underwent two unnecessary operations and was left with a much worse scar than an ordinary caesarean section wound would have left. For several months she was too unwell to care for her new born baby. She was awarded £10,000.