“As i recall nurse suzanne jennings who works ward 4 of south tyneside hospital mishandled blood donation G096715 1014120 on 9th feb 2015 by returning it to the fridge after 30 minutes had lapsed. it was no longer fit for use. i was given it on 10th then collapsed with a blood clot and are now terminally ill. stay out of that hospital is my advice. my foi for the times it was out of the fridge are refused. stay out of that hospital ward 4. if you must go in take a camera and photograph all procedures etc i have requested records from the blood bank but am refused by i believe melanie johnson, steve jamieson, md ken bremner audrey beatrace barrass, diane palmer diane ward, alison atkinson and gemma evans. ex nhs employee catherine kirton gave me some records but was then suspended”.
“Sequence of Events. South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust
During late 2014 I was feeling run down and went to my GP for a check up. I saw Dr Slyderink who examined me and performed an ECG Scan and gave bill a clean bill of health. The symptoms persisted and I returned to see Dr Slyderink who examined me and took 2 Blood and 1 Urine sample. He tested 1 Blood and the Urine finding nothing untoward, and sent the other Blood for further analysis. I returned to see him 2 days later to discuss the results, where he informed me my Red Blood Cell count was low at 88 and referred me to the Hospital. I told the Dr on one occasion my faeces was very black, and he told me to mention this at hospital which I did.
I attended the Hospital late Jan/early Feb and had a consultation followed by various tests, most I can’t remember but am told all were ok, and a sample of Blood was taken. The Blood again showed a low Red Blood Cell count which I believe was 84. I had a further appointment at the Hospital as a precursor to my attending for endoscopy at which another Blood Sample was taken which I believe was 78. I was given a date of Tuesday 10th Feb for Endoscopy Examination.
On Friday 6th February at approx 5:50 I received a telephone call from the Hospital asking if I could attend on Monday 9th Feb instead of the 10th. I asked why but the caller could not tell as she didn’t know. I asked if my examination was being brought forward to which she said “it may well be the reason” so I duly agreed to this request.
On Monday 9th Feb I entered the Hospital Ward 2 or 4 I am not certain as required and was allocated a bed. I asked the Nurse when I was going in for Endoscopy and she said someone would be to see me in due course. Nobody came.
At 15:06 my bed was approached by a Nurse who introduced herself and said she was here to give me the Transfusion. What Transfusion I asked? I had no prior knowledge of any Transfusion and made it quite clear I wasn’t going to have one and that I wanted to see a doctor. The nurse was clearly agitated about this and commented that she was working overtime, had been on shift since 07:00 and had to get home to make a meal. I repeated several times that I was not prepared to have a Transfusion and was not given any notice that this was what the Hospital had intended. At approx 15:20 the Nurse said the Blood had arrived to which I repeated that I was not going to have any. The Nurse said that she had already opened it (why when I said I wasn’t having any?). I repeated I wasn’t going to have any. The Nurse left and reappeared with a young female Doctor who began to tell me I must have a Transfusion. I again stated clearly I wasn’t prepared to have one and that I should have been informed prior to entering the Hospital this was the case. The Doctor left and returned with a second Doctor, male middle Eastern. Both then argued that I must have Blood again I refused telling them I was having none. After several minutes arguing the point the Doctors left and returned with a third Doctor, female middle Eastern. All three argued that I must have Blood, and I insisted that I was not prepared to. This discussion lasted for quite some time and I was never given the option to not have a Transfusion, and under extreme pressure. It was a very stressful situation and not what is expected of a Hospital. It was a situation which should never happen in a hospital. Regrettably I wilted under extreme pressure after what seemed an age of arguing no, and the Nurse gave me the Blood which had been opened for approx 30 – 45 minutes. What finally persuaded me was the male doctor said there was no risk at all as blood is replaced in your body after 4/5 months so if the Transfusion was not 100% I would be back to normal in 4/5 months anyway. My request not to have blood was never considered as an option.
I received blood and at approx 17:30 was given a laxatibe then at 17:30 to 18:00 another unit arrived with a single nurse (Suzanne Jennings) at a similar time to a laxative. I questioned whether I would not be embarrassed should the laxative work quickly and why I needed more blood anyway, surely I was over the 80 required for the procedure. A Doctor, young female i believe was called Caroline Collinson, was called and I repeated this to her, surely I had more than 80 now. She agreed and said no more blood was needed, I had the laxative. The blood was returned to the fridge by the nurse long after 30 minutes had elapsed.
The next morning (Tuesday 10th) I was approached by the Anaesthetist called Dr Boregowda who said I needed more blood. I told him what had happened the previous evening but he was adamant I was to have more blood. I argued my point to him and refused more blood, asking for a doctor to be called. The Anaesthetist left and a Doctor, young female, arrived to whom all was explained. She agreed no more blood was needed as I had over the 80 required, and told me not to worry she would sort it all out. I never seen her again, but some 2 – 3 hours later 2 nurses appeared with blood. I told them it wasn’t for me and that the doctor had resolved it but they confirmed it was for me. I was totally confused and stressed wanting to get out of that hospital as soon as possible and unfortunately allowed them to give me the transfusion thinking it was the right thing to do. This was the same unit of blood which was taken back the night before, did the nurse open it then and reseal it? Later I went to theatre and had the Endoscopy which found nothing untoward (just Bugs as it was described) and I was discharged at approx 20:00 hrs that evening.
I returned home but felt something wasn’t right. Can’t really describe it, like being bloated and heavy. I had an unsettled nights sleep, took my daughter to school next morning and pottered about the house next day. At about 15:00 hrs I fell asleep (almost collapsed).
My daughter woke me at around 18:15 and I asked her to call her Grandma and Aunty as I wasn’t well. They quickly arrived and called for a doctor who had a brief look at me and called for an emergency ambulance.
The ambulance arrived and took me straight to hospital where I was booked in at approx 19:20 and left in the waiting area for hours without any attention. I was eventually (after 4/5 hours) allocated a temporary bed in a room off the main corridor where I remained all night.
In the morning I was transferred to ward 8 at approx 07:30, I’m told the Head Nurse/Matron found out I had spent all night in temporary ‘accommodation’ and wasn’t pleased at all, in fact she went mad. I often wonder if any damage was done to me in this time. I spent 4 weeks on ward 8 where I underwent various tests, but am left partially disabled by the whole ordeal although am hopeful for some recovery.
In Brief: The above is a brief account of actual events, reasonably accurate but not too detailed. I won’t add too much, but safe to say I’m very unimpressed as to the performance of the hospital and can’t agree with their opinion that what happened on Wednesday had nothing to do with the events of Monday and Tuesday. The internal endoscopy showed clear results and I am left with the damage done to me in the hospital. Had I known what they intended to do I would never have entered and would be ok now. I have a damaged optical nerve which I believe is a consequence of the blood transfusion. I suffered a blood clot which I suggest is also a consequence of the blood transfusion, I suspect the blood unit had possibly been opened and resealed, but it definately was returned to the blood bank on Monday long after 30 minutes had elapsed. The hospital have a legal obligation to inform the patient before they enter what they intend to do. In my case this was not done. In my opinion had the hospital complied with my request not to give me transfusions I would be ok now and am angry I was put under extreme duress to accept these which has resulted in my condition. I wish I had walked out but you put your trust in Medical Staff, trust which appears was misguided. Difficult for me to identify an actual event which caused my injuries as the Hospital will always be able to argue against it but Blood Transfusions, Blood for Transfusion, should always be accompanied by 2 nurses to avoid the possibity of opening and resealing if not used.
I have made FOI requests to establish the movement of blood I received but the hospital refuse me these. I have then made SAR requests and been refused. My request for records showing the release of blood from the blood bank on both dates has been refused. Ken Bremner MD, Melanie Johnson and Gemma Evans appear to be the ones refusing me access to the times the blood left and returned to the blood bank on 9th, as I believe it was responsible for the clot after I was given it on 10th.
Blood received G096715 1174620 on 9th and G096715 1014120 on 10th Feb 2015
Hospital quote in a letter I have as follows:
It is very rare for strokes to occur during or after endoscopy procedures, but
does happen on occasions. It is however so ‘rare’ that we do not warn people
about it, nor to my knowledqe.does anyone else.
I’ve just had a visit from a Nurse (February 2016) and told her about the suspected blood clot in my neck. She said ‘It’s not the blood I received during the transfusion that has clotted, but the blood I already had that has’. – Unbelievable.
Opinion. It is my belief that the injuries I suffered are the result of blood donation G096715 1014120 being returned to the blood bank on 9th Feb 2015 after having spent long over 30 minutes on the ward and then given to me on 10th when it was unfit for transfusion. The hospitals refusal to provide records or respond to my FOI and SAR requests endorses that belief.Report this
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