Central News, Press Room, Central Criminal Court,
Central News, Press Room, Central Criminal Court, Old Bailey, LONDON, EC4.
Tel: 020 7236 0116.
General Medical Council/peter stubley
eMail: news@centralnews.
co.
uk
http://www.
centralnews.
co.
uk
12 September 2001
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Walker and his assistant surgeon went for a coffee break halfway through an operation when Mrs Wilson had already lost 10 litres of blood, the GMC heard.
Dr Harper said only a nurse was left behind to help try and stop the bleeding.
‘I went to the bottom of the table to see a relative torrent of venous blood pouring down the drapes.
‘I asked the nurse to put pressure on the packs to restrict bleeding.
‘Mr Walker remained very low key as to the blood loss.
‘
Mrs Wilson died two-and-a-half hours after moving to intensive care having lost up to 20 litres of blood on four hours.
Dr Harper later challenged Walker about the operation.
He said: ‘This was a once in a career case in our first five weeks together.
‘He said he had felt uncomfortable about reiterating blood loss because it gave the impression he wasn’t in control.
‘
Dr Harper later described the second surgical nightmare which led him to refuse to work with Walker.
An 86-year-old woman, referred to as Mrs MS, was described as a fairly fit patient despite having suffered a heart attack two years earlier.
But during the three-hour surgery the woman suffered two cardiac arrests and lost four litres of blood.
In his notes, Mr Walker described the bleeding as ‘troublesome’ and made no mention of the heart attack.
Dr Harper said: ‘It didn’t go according to plan.
‘She deteriorated massively to the extent she had a cardiac arrest.
‘I had to give adrenalin while the registrar performed a heart massage.
‘The surgery continued.
There were at least two cardiac arrests.
‘
Walker opened up the wounds twice and claimed there was no surgical bleeding internally.
But Dr Harper told the hearing he now believed that was not true.
Another case that caused Dr Harper to talk to the medical director at the Blackpool Victoria Hospital concerned a pregnant 33-year-old patient, Miss SN, who was admitted with a 16cm liver cyst.
After the birth, Walker decided to cut open the cyst and drain the fluid on 23 February, 1998.
But the bile continued to leak out at 100 ml a day through a tube – which later fell out.
Dr Harper said he talked to Dr Peter Hayes about communication problems between him and Walker.
‘Things were happening during the operation which I wouldn’t be aware of until about 45 minutes later.
The hearing continues tomorrow.
(Thurs)
ends
