Hospital negligence: delayed or wrong referral

You may attend a GP appointment with a seemingly minor ailment and nothing which is causing you too much concern. It is the role of your GP to listen to your symptoms, carry out an initial assessment and ultimately decide whether you can be treated at primary care level or whether an onward referral to a specialist is required.

GP practices are being put under increasing pressure, not least due to patient numbers increasing and the number of fully qualified GP’s decreasing. This has led to a growing trend towards remote/video consultations (in favour of face-to-face appointments) and the shortening of appointment times to no more than 10 minutes per ailment. It is perhaps, therefore, unsurprising that GP’s and other primary care professionals are making mistakes when it comes to the onward referral of patients.

There are certain symptoms which, although may seem minor when considered in isolation, can be cause for greater concern when considered alongside the full clinical picture. These symptoms are often referred to as ‘red flag’ symptoms & quite often will warrant onward referral to a specialist.

A ‘delayed’ referral to a specialist can amount to negligence if the delay is unreasonable and, because of the delay, a patient suffers avoidable injury or harm. A ‘wrong’ referral can also lead to avoidable injury or harm, as the patient may be seen by a specialist who is unable to assist and who must rectify the mistake by making the correct referral and, as a result, there are delays in the patient receiving appropriate treatment.

One of the most common scenarios in which a delayed or wrong referral may occur, is when a GP fails to recognise certain ‘red flag’ symptoms or they misinterpret a patient’s symptoms. This can lead to the GP placing the patient on an incorrect referral pathway which leads to a delay in the patient being seen by a specialist and commencing treatment such as chemotherapy or surgery.

It is not possible for us to mention all scenarios in which a delayed or wrong referral can lead to avoidable injury or harm, but a few common examples are:

1. Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) – there are certain ‘red flag’ symptoms associated with DVT, such as leg pain and swelling, skin redness & warmth (often in the calf). If these symptoms are missed, and if this leads to a delayed referral to the hospital, the consequences can be serious, such as the development of a pulmonary embolism.

2. Cancer – different types of cancer have their own ‘red flag’ symptoms. Missing such symptoms can lead to a patient being placed on a ‘routine’ or ‘urgent’ referral pathway, rather than on a ‘2 week wait’ cancer pathway. The consequences of making an incorrect referral can be devastating in terms of patient’s chances of surviving the cancer.

3. Heart conditions – the ‘red flag’ symptoms associated with serious heart conditions can often be mistaken for less serious conditions like indigestion or heartburn. Symptoms such as chest pain radiating into arms, shortness of breath, sweating and nausea can be cardia ‘red flags’ and warrant urgent referral to emergency care.

4. Sepsis/Infection – the ‘red flag’ symptoms of sepsis are often not detected at primary care level due to them mimicking other common illnesses like flu or the common cold. This can lead to delays in referral to emergency care, which increases the risk of severe complications.

If you believe you or a loved one has suffered due to medical negligence and you would like a free consultation to discuss your options, please call Aston Knight Solicitors today on 0161 399 1231 or click the ‘Contact’ button above to submit an online enquiry and one of our dedicated Solicitors will contact you to discuss your claim further.