Woman dies following weight loss surgery and ‘woeful’ private healthcare
A prominent North East businesswoman received “woeful” care following weight loss surgery at a private hospital, and died as a result of complications.
Nicola Fisher underwent a gastric sleeve operation at Spire Washington Hospital and developed a leak from her stomach as a consequence.
Following emergency NHS surgery in June 2023, less than two days after her discharge from Spire Washington Hospital, Nicola underwent several more rounds of surgery at Sunderland Royal Hospital over the following seven months due to ongoing complications.
At the inquest into her death, held at Sunderland Coroner’s Court, it was revealed that appropriate observations were not done by nurses at Spire Washington Hospital before her discharge, and medications were not given as expected. Nicola’s pre-discharge blood test results were also not checked prior to discharge.
Karin Welsh, assistant coroner, branded these failures “woeful” and said it had hampered her attempts to understand Nicola’s health at the time of her discharge, and establish whether there were missed opportunities to identify the leak and operate prior to her developing extensive infection in her abdomen.
Bharat Jangra, instructed by John Lowther at Slater and Gordon, acted on behalf of Nicola’s husband, Peter, at the inquest.
This matter has received considerable coverage in the press:
