Hospital apologises as man left badly burned by heated mattress after surgery

Paul Hickman had surgery to improve the circulation in his leg at Russell Hall Hospital in Dudley in March last year.

However, after the procedure, the 43-year-old from Walsall complained of severe pain and it emerged that he had burns to his thigh and buttocks.

He instructed specialist medical negligence lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate and has now joined his legal team in calling for lessons to be learned.

It comes after a root cause analysis report by Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, classed what happened to Paul as a serious incident.

The trust found the use of alcohol-based solution during Paul’s preparation for surgery and the “inappropriate use” of a heated mattress in surgery led to his burns.

The “unusual combination created the ideal circumstances to create a significant burn” on Paul, the report said.

It added that his injuries were sustained after another patient suffered burns in 2016 which led to the “complete stopping” of heated mattresses being used in certain vascular procedures.

Paul said: “It was a very worrying time and I obviously hoped that the surgery would go well. However, afterwards I remember just being in a lot of pain.

"When I was told that I had suffered burns, I was shocked and confused. I couldn’t understand how that had happened.

“The pain from the burns and scars I had all down the back of the tops of my legs was unbearable. I was in so much pain and painkillers didn’t really take the edge off.

“While the burns are starting to heal I still have a lot of marks and scars where they have been and I’ve been told some of the scarring won’t disappear so will be with me for life. Because of the scars I now also have to sit differently and lean more to the side. They feel dry and scaly and I have to apply cream.

“What makes what happened to me even more shocking is hearing about the previous incident. I hope that by speaking out I can help prevent yet another similar incident happening. This has happened twice and I don’t want it to happen again.”

Alexandra Roberts, the specialist medical negligence lawyer at Irwin Mitchell representing Paul, added: “Understandably what happened to Paul has had a physical and mental impact upon him.

"What is particularly worrying is that the injuries he suffered came after a fellow patient was injured in a similar incident and the trust had taken measures to apparently avoid a repeat of this happening.

“While it’s too late for Paul it is now vital that lessons are learned from what happened to Paul and that the trust ensures its guidance is upheld at all times to maintain patient safety.”

The trust has apologised and said it has ordered upgraded thermal warming mattress systems across its theatres and removed alcohol based pourable solutions to reduce the risk of the incident recurring.

Diane Wake, chief executive of the Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, said: "We offer our sincere and wholehearted apologies to Mr Hickman who sadly sustained his burns during surgery.

"We have carried out a comprehensive review into the incident and this particular type of heated mattress, while appropriate in most surgical procedures, is no longer used for the type of vascular procedure undertaken on Mr Hickman."