Trust is fined £60 000 for death of patient after scan mix up

Clare Dyer A hospital trust whose patient died after doctors read the wrong scan report and sent him home has been fined £60 000 (€70 000; $73 000) after a criminal prosecution by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn NHS Foundation Trust pleaded guilty at Chelmsford magistrates court to failing to provide safe care and treatment to Lucas Allard, exposing him to significant risk of avoidable harm. In March 2019 Allard, 28, who had a complex medical history and was awaiting heart surgery, arrived at the emergency department with chest pain and underwent computed tomography. After initial difficulty in locating his scan report, staff assessed what they thought was the right report and discharged him. Two days later a consultant discovered the mistake. The correct report showed significant abnormality, and Allard was urgently called to the hospital. But shortly after his arrival he had a cardiac arrest, and staff were unable to resuscitate him. ZoeRobinson, CQC’s headof hospital inspection, said, “If the trust had identified andaddressed theweakness of its system, it could have appropriately responded to Mr Allard’s condition and provided him with the urgent care he needed at the earliest opportunity,” The trust’s acting chief executive officer, AliceWebster, said, “Wehave learnt and takenmeasures to address and close the gaps this case clearly highlighted.”