An elderly woman suffered severe bleeding and died

An elderly woman suffered severe bleeding and died after a bungling surgeon left the hospital within minutes of her operation, the GMC heard today.

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Mary Love, 61, was having routine keyhole surgery to remove a kidney stone when she suffered complications and began to bleed profusely.

But despite knowing there were problems and being warned to stop the operation, Willem Bijl, continued for more than an hour.

Then he left the hospital half-an-hour after completing the surgery even though Mrs Love had been rushed to intensive care.

Her condition began to deteriorate but staff could not even contact Bijl because he had no mobile phone.

An on-call surgeon at the hospital in Essex performed an emergency op later that evening, but Mrs Love died a day later.

The GMC heard how the blunder happened after Mrs Love, of Pilgrim’s Lane, Grays, was admitted to Basildon Hospital on July 2, 1996 to have a stone removed from her left kidney.

The operation was begun but during the procedure she began to suffer bleeding and her blood pressure dropped.

A blood transfusion was given and medics held ‘considerable discussion’ about what to do.

But just over three hours into the surgery anaesthetist Dr Simon Thomson warned consultant neurologist Bijl that he should consider stopping the procedure within 30 minutes, it was claimed.

Bijl allegedly continued for another hour despite Mrs Love’s continued blood loss.

At 7pm the surgery ended and Bijl inserted a drain in Mrs Love’s abdomen.

But instead of realising the danger she was in and staying at the hospital he headed for his home in Chelmsford, it was claimed.

Patricia Robertson, for the GMC, said when Mrs Love was rushed to intensive care it was noted that she was ‘bleeding profusely from the abdominal drain’, and lost 750 mls of blood in 30 minutes.

She told the committee: ‘The drain was inserted by Mr Bijl and he noticed that it was bloody.

‘When Mrs Love was taken to intensive care it seems the bleeding was continuing and worsening at that time.

‘Mr Bijl must have been aware of the extent of the blood loss.

‘He could not have seen the infusions going on at this level in the operating room and not have been aware of the extent of it.

‘

During the night Mrs Love suffered a heart attack and was given emergency surgery, including repeated infusions and more than 30 units of blood.

But she later suffered shock which affected her heart and lungs and died in the early hours of the morning of July 4.

Miss Robertson said that because it was a keyhole operation, the bleeding would be less obvious but that Bijl should have been ‘alive to the possibility’ of hidden problems.

She added: ‘Did he pay adequate attention to the concerns being put to him and the patient’s condition – we say he did not.

‘We say it was a misjudgment on his part and a serious one.

‘But the most serious aspect is what happened at the end of the operation when he went home.

‘It should have been obvious to him that this patient may have recovered further intervention.

‘He made a wrong judgement, and it was seriously wrong.

‘Our criticism is not that Mr Bijl caused the surgical blood loss, but his failure to recognise and respond appropriately to the patient’s condition.

‘

Dutch-born Bijl, of Tudor Lodge, Hackmans Road, Cock Clarks, Chelmsford, denies serious professional misconduct.

The case continues.

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