Consultant fell short of standards of care, says expert

THE care provided by a consultant at St James’s Hospital in Dublin to a woman who died as a result of complications from a bowel obstruction fell seriously short of expected standards, a medical expert has claimed.

Anthony Peel, a consultant surgeon at St Bart’s Hospital in London, told a hearing of the Irish Medical Council yesterday that the patient’s chances of having a successful operation were compromised by a delay in a decision to arrange surgery.

The patient, Colette Donohoe, a 54-year-old mother of two from Derry Road, Crumlin, died on August 22, 2006 five days after she was first admitted to St James’s when she had already suffered vomiting and stomach pains for 48 hours.