Dudley patient taking legal action against NHS trust over 'failed' brain surgery

Keith Bastable, from Dudley, is now taking legal action against University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust.

He had deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, but was left with concerns about the treatment and needing further surgery.

DBS involves implanting electrodes into specific areas of the brain, which produce electrical impulses to try to control and reduce the symptoms of a range of conditions, including epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease.

Michael Portman-Hann, of FBC Manby Bowdler’s clinical negligence team, who is supporting Mr Bastable, said lawyers representing the hospital had admitted he received “sub-standard” care in April 2019.

He said: “The electrodes were not inserted in the correct part of Mr Bastable’s brain, which rendered the treatment ineffective.

“Unfortunately, he suffered some side-effects as a result which have affected him more than the original Parkinson's symptoms.

“The treatment left him needing further surgery to remove the original electrodes, and the whole experience has caused a huge amount of unnecessary stress and trauma.”

Mr Portman-Hann said Mr Bastable was not the only patient at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital who had been affected, and the DBS surgery service had been subject to a full review involving over 20 cases.

He said: “All patients who received DBS treatment between 2017 and 2019 have had their cases reviewed as a result of concerns about treatment and outcomes, and the results were damning.

“The inquiry found that most patients had little or no benefit from DBS, and many have suffered as a result of the treatment.

“It also said there had been unacceptable delays in responding to patient concerns.

“The inquiry panel said the problems were most likely due to poor team working, and a neurosurgeon whose technique was poor and failed to change in response to poor results. The team failed to identify the problem early, to continuously improve, and keep up to date with best practice.

“We understand that the inquiry is now looking into patients who underwent DBS prior to 2017, and we are therefore currently unaware of how many patients have been affected by this issue.

“We are supporting Mr Bastable to hold the trust to account for the failures in his care, which were allowed to continue even after it was recognised that patient outcomes were poor. We are now pursuing a clinical negligence case against UHB.”

The DBS service at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital has now been suspended.

The trust says the independent review of the DBS service had maintained regular contact with patients included in the review, keeping them fully informed.

The initial review looked at patients with immediate clinical concerns, which involved 22 procedures concerning 21 patients, and it has now been resolved by referral for second opinion or external clinical review, the trust said.

UHB said 40 patients with a "reduced level of clinical concern" were also contacted and the majority requested and received an external opinion on the placement of their leads.

A review of around 90 patients, who received DBS before the imaging of lead placement was standard practice, continues.

A spokesperson for UHB said: “The trust is committed to providing high-quality healthcare for all its patients and we are deeply sorry that we did not deliver this for many patients undergoing deep brain stimulation for their movement disorder.

“We have learned a great deal from this independent review, and our neurosciences team and senior management have already taken steps to make vital improvements, based on the clear recommendations in the report, that will shape the way that the service is safely delivered in future.”