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Cancer patient drug trial death
Family ready to sue hospital over man who received experimental treatment
A CANCER patient died at University College London Hospital after he was mistakenly given a fatal overdose of chemotherapy during a government-funded drugs trial.
Gary Foster, 27, from Essex, died at the Euston hospital in October last year while undergoing experimental treatment for testicular cancer. His family are pursuing a clinical negligence claim against the hospital.
A second UCLH patient, who also took part in the trial, survived the error although a patient at a different hospital died.
The recent inquest into Mr Foster’s death was the first of four this month in which St Pancras coroner Dr Andrew Reid ruled that “accidental adverse healthcare events” proved fatal at UCLH.
Last week Dr Reid called for an external review into why Tracey-Ann Korkmaz, 41, Katherine Blakey, 44, and Jack Brown, 76, all died after non-emergency surgery at the hospital earlier this year.
A spokesman for UCLH insisted that Dr Reid did not criticise the hospital over Mr Foster’s care and claimed that the three other deaths investigated by the coroner were unconnected. The spokesman said that Mr Foster’s death was “an isolated incident” that had prompted a number of changes in the way the Camden Primary Care Trust carries out clinical trials.
Speaking at Mr Foster’s inquest, Dr Reid accepted that a fundamental error in the preparations for the trial on the hospital computer system “contributed” to Mr Foster’s death
He ruled: “Mr Foster died as a result of an accidental adverse healthcare event to which the improper set-up of chemotherapy protocol contributed.”
The drug trial was funded by the Medical Research Council.
Mr Foster, a graphic designer, was due to marry his fiancée on a date that turned out to be two days before his inquest was held.
According to his mother, Colleen, Mr Foster visited UCLH seven times during the trial. On each occasion he was given twice the amount of chemotherapy he should have received – a fatal dosage.
Speaking after the inquest, Ms Foster said: “We were told by the hospital not to worry, that testicular cancer was curable and that taking part in this trial would further increase Gary’s chances of survival.
“Instead, the drugs that were supposed to save his life were killing him. An overdose gives the impression that it was a one-off. It was seven times. Every week my poor Gary was going into hospital we thought he was getting better but, actually, he was being slowly poisoned and poisoned to death.”
Mark Bowman, a solicitor at Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP representing the Fosters, said: “This tragic case highlights the potential dangers involved in any form of clinical trial. Such trials need to be set up, regulated, monitored and administered with the utmost scrutiny, to avoid others suffering the fatal consequences that befell Gary Foster.”
A UCLH spokesman said: “In his summing up the coroner commended the trust on the openness and thoroughness of its investigation and on its action plan to improve systems and processes.
“He did not criticise any of the clinical staff involved. He concluded that UCLH had already made all appropriate changes to improve patient safety in response to this accident.” |
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