A hospital patient has won a £475,000 payout from two health trusts after blunders by medics left him riddled with bed sores.
The 70-year-old man, who has not been named, developed the sores as a patient at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, where he was being treated for a spinal injury he sustained in a fall in October 2010.
Five months later he was moved to Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Buckinghamshire, where he developed more sores.
The sores led to an eight-year stay in hospital and his lawyers Bolt Burdon Kemp successfully secured the settlement on his behalf last week.
Barts Health NHS Trust and Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust apologised to the patient in a joint statement, adding: “We recognise the significant effect this has had on this particular patient.
“Preventing and treating pressure ulcers is one of the NHS’ most important safety priorities, which is why in recent years we’ve taken a range of actions including enhancing training for staff.”
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