Father from Halesowen died after doctors failed to act

The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital in Birmingham has apologised and admitted liability in the case which led to the death of of Robert Collett from Halesowen.

An inquest into the part time driver's death heard that the surgery went in February 2011 ahead despite the 62-year-old complaining of chest pains and feeling unwell beforehand.

And the law firm acting for his family say that in the week before his operation an assessment showed an abnormal heart monitor reading.

Expert evidence compiled by the law firm Irwin Mitchell found he would in all likelihood still be alive if staff had stopped the knee surgery when he started showing signs of cardiac distress in theatre.

Today, Mr Collett's widow Angela said: "I knew it all along to be honest, if they had taken note and listened to what he was saying he might still have been here today - that is the travesty of it all.

"Whilst I am relieved the trust has admitted liability, it won't bring him back."

Mr Collett was rushed to Birmingham City Hospital after the operation, but could not be saved and died hours later on February 9 in 2011.

He and his wife had been due to celebrate the couple's 28th wedding anniversary the week after his death and the couple also had booked a safari holiday to Kenya in the October.

He had three children, Nicola Jones, 35, Adele, 28, and Mark, 26, as well as two grandchildren, four-year-old Max and Lacey, aged two.

Mrs Collett, aged 54, added: "We're still all completely devastated following his death.

"He was very close to the children, they all miss him every day. It makes it worse when you realise this could have all be avoided."

Mrs Collett worked at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital at the time of her husband's death. She has since left and now works as a palliative care nurse.

She said: "I remember asking two nurses where my husband was and when I said his name was Robert Collett, their faces just dropped."

An independent review carried out by The Royal College of Anaesthetists after Mr Collett's death found poor communication and leadership, as well as a low standard of pre-operative assessment and record keeping.

Jo Chambers, chief executive at the hospital trust, said: "The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust apologises sincerely to the family of Robert Collett for their loss and the on going distress this has caused.

"The trust has admitted liability in this case for failure to discontinue the patient's operation when there were clear indications that this should have been considered."

She said since 2011 the trust had made improvements.

She said: "The trust has developed a new method of pre-operative assessment where a consultant anaesthetist is available to consider pre-existing conditions likely to affect surgery and to call for additional tests as necessary.

"We have extended and improved our training within the operating team and carried out a peer review of best practice, to improve communication.

"We're carrying out an ongoing review of record keeping."