NHS – Medical Records Mistake Lead to Patient Death With Erroneous Notation On Not to Revive
Posted Feb 02 2010 5:56pm
45 minutes after the staff had discovered the error, the man had died. He was in the hospital for flue like symptoms and had suffered a heart attack and no CPR was offered and by the time the error was found, it was too late to even try. BD
Nurses at a hospital failed to resuscitate an 86-year-old man after it was mistakenly written in his medical records that he was not to be revived, it has emerged.
An inquest heard that nurses decided not to start CPR after Peter Clarke suffered a heart attack at the former Derby City General Hospital on January 4 last year.
His medical records stated he was not to be resuscitated but the note was "erroneously" made, the hearing heard.
It was not until up to an hour later the mistake was noticed and nurses started CPR. But it was too late and Mr Clarke died.
On Monday, Dr Robert Hunter, Derby and South Derbyshire Coroner, recorded a verdict that Mr Clarke died from natural causes at the city's coroners' court.
45 minutes after the staff had discovered the error, the man had died. He was in the hospital for flue like symptoms and had suffered a heart attack and no CPR was
offered and by the time the error was found, it was too late to even try. BD