Compensation for Inflammatory Bowel Disease Negligence
Inflammatory bowel disease causes sufferers considerable pain and distress. If treatment is delayed or inappropriate, the impact can be life-threatening. Speak to a specialist solicitor if you believe medical negligence has increased your physical difficulties.
IBD and Bowel Perforation
Inflammatory bowel disease refers essentially to two digestive disorders which can be debilitating and require prompt treatment.
Ulcerative colitis and crohn's disease are both conditions where the lining of the digestive tract becomes inflamed, causing a variety of distressing, painful and potentially debilitating effects.
Ulcerative colitis tends to affect the rectum or colon in the large intestine whereas Crohn's disease can affect other parts of the digestive system.
A serious risk of these conditions is the possibility of the bowel perforating, thereby allowing bacterial matter to leak from inside the bowel into the abdominal cavity which has no mechanism for dealing with it. Once inside the abdominal space, the bacteria can cause the lining of the abdomen to become infected, causing peritonitis and raising the threat of life-threatening sepsis.
NICE Guidelines
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence identifies the following quality statements in relation to Inflammatory Bowel Disease:
- People with suspected IBD have a specialist assessment within 4 weeks of referral
- Services provide age-appropriate support from a multi-disciplinary team for people with IBD and their family members or carers
- People having surgery for IBD have it undertaken by a colorectal surgeon who is a core member of the IBD multi-disciplinary team
- People receiving drug treatment for IBD are monitored for adverse effects
It is important not only that these recommendations are followed but also imperative that a prompt diagnosis is achieved.
Diagnosis
A failure to consider IBD as a diagnosis, however, will result in a delay in referral and treatment.
Diagnosis may be difficult due to the wide range of abdominal conditions which can cause similar symptoms to ulcerative colitis and crohn's disease. However, a failure to consider the possibility of these serious disorders as a diagnosis may have severe consequences.
Symptoms indicative of inflammatory bowel disease could include diarrhoea, stomach pain, blood in faeces, difficulties with bowel movements and nausea.
Treatment
Once diagnosis is achieved, the patient requires careful and on-going monitoring and assessment to ensure that their treatment suits the needs of their condition.
The patient may be able to control their condition with medication only but sometimes it may be necessary for a patient to undergo surgery to remove a part of their bowel.
A delay in carrying out surgery when necessary can allow the digestive tract to perforate, as mentioned above. A delay may also mean that the patient then requires a colostomy on either a temporary or permanent basis due to damage to their digestive tract.
Medical negligence
If medical delays cause a patient to suffer significant, long-term problems, it may be a case of medical negligence.
If you or a loved one are suffering the debilitating impact of poorly-treated inflammatory bowel disease, contact Glynns to talk to a specialist medical negligence solicitor.
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