Earlier we reported on the clinical negligence claim of Darnley v Croydon Health Services NHS Trust. The Supreme Court has now considered this case where the Claimant had pursued compensation for injury caused by the A&E Receptionist giving misleading information.
Mr Darnley attended at the Mayday Hospital in Croydon in 2010 complaining of feeling unwell after suffering a head injury in an assault. He was told by Reception staff that he may have to wait 4 or 5 hours for treatment. He left hospital 19 minutes later but unfortunately his condition deteriorated rapidly. Mr Darnley was not told that it was hospital policy to triage patients within 30 minutes. It was accepted that he would have stayed longer if this was known to him and that he would have made a near full recovery if he had been in hospital at the time of his symptoms getting worse. The case is now returning to a lower Court for assessment.
It is believed that this is the first litigated case where a claim for compensation has been brought for injury caused by A&E Receptionists providing misleading information.
