Misdiagnosis — illustrative scenario
Delayed cancer diagnosis
A patient reports rectal bleeding and unexplained weight loss to their GP over several months. No referral is made under the two-week-wait pathway. By the time bowel cancer is eventually diagnosed following a hospital admission, it has progressed to a later stage requiring more extensive surgery and chemotherapy than would otherwise have been needed. An expert review of the GP records finds the referral criteria were clearly met months before the eventual diagnosis.
Surgical negligence — illustrative scenario
Retained surgical swab
Following abdominal surgery, a patient experiences ongoing pain and low-grade fever that isn't fully investigated for several weeks. A CT scan eventually reveals a surgical swab left inside the abdominal cavity, requiring a second operation to remove it and treat the resulting infection. The hospital's own incident investigation confirms the swab count at the end of the original operation was recorded as correct when it should not have been.
GP and A&E negligence — illustrative scenario
Missed cauda equina syndrome
A patient attends A&E with severe lower back pain and reports difficulty passing urine. No urgent MRI is arranged, and they are discharged with painkillers. Symptoms worsen over the following two days and, by the time an MRI is finally carried out at a second hospital visit, permanent nerve damage has resulted in ongoing bladder and bowel dysfunction that earlier surgery would likely have prevented.
Birth injury — illustrative scenario
Birth injury from a mismanaged labour
During labour, a CTG trace shows a clearly deteriorating fetal heart pattern over a sustained period. The trace isn't escalated to a senior obstetrician, and an emergency caesarean section isn't performed until significantly later than it should have been. The baby is born with hypoxic brain injury. An independent review of the CTG trace and the labour ward's own escalation policy concludes that earlier delivery would probably have avoided the injury.
Care home negligence — illustrative scenario
Care home pressure ulcer
A care home resident with limited mobility is not repositioned in line with the schedule set out in their own care plan. A pressure ulcer develops and, without prompt identification and treatment, progresses to a severe, hospital-treated wound. The home's own care notes show repeated gaps in the repositioning record that don't match the plan the home itself had put in place.