A mother today told how she was left “writhing on the floor in agony” following a routine gallstone operation.
Katy Carey, 28, feared she was dying after surgeons severed a tube on her liver, causing bile to leak inside her body. She is now demanding an apology from Croydon University Hospital.
She said: “I’m a carer for my autistic son and it meant I couldn’t look after him for several days or my other son and daughter. I was writhing on the floor in agony. I thought I had internal bleeding and was going to die.”
Ms Carey, from New Addington, had surgery in November to remove gallstones and was discharged, only to be struck down by crippling pain. It took two hours for an ambulance to arrive, she said, and doctors at Croydon blamed the pain on residual discomfort. A third hospital visit revealed the cut tube.
Croydon Health Services NHS Trust said it was sorry Ms Carey was unhappy with her care and would “meet with her to discuss these issues”. She has contacted solicitors about legal action.
The London Ambulance Service said it would have liked to reach Ms Carey sooner but that she did not qualify as a priority patient.
