Hospitals' mistakes led to death

Deborah's husband, David, described her as his rock

A man has been awarded £150,000 in compensation after mistakes by two hospitals led to his wife's death.

Incorrectly filed mammogram test results led to Deborah Yardley's cancer spreading and the need for a double mastectomy in 2003, solicitors said.

Two years later she underwent breast reconstruction but an error by the anaesthetist led to her suffering a cardiac arrest and later dying.

University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust admitted negligence.

Mrs Yardley's husband, David, was awarded the money in an out of court settlement.

The reconstructive surgery should have marked a new beginning for Deborah but it ended tragically... Julie Lewis, Irwin Mitchell, solicitors

In a statement the trust said it "sends its sincere condolences to the Yardley family and greatly appreciates the extreme distress caused."

The 45-year-old, from Quinton in Birmingham, had the mammogram at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in the city in December 2002 and breast reconstruction at Selly Oak Hospital, a spokesman for law firm Irwin Mitchell said.

During the six-hour operation, the anaesthetist did not deal with a blocked airway correctly and his failure to notice a significant drop in Mrs Yardley's blood pressure, led to her suffering a cardio-respiratory arrest.

She suffered irreversible brain damage and died three days later.

Independent experts later noted she was also given more than twice the recommended does of an anaesthetic, which can damage heart muscle if too much is administered.

'My rock'

Solicitor Julie Lewis said the family began legal proceedings against the trust over the misdiagnosis of her cancer eight months prior to her death.

Mrs Yardley received a letter admitting staff had been negligent on the day she underwent reconstruction surgery and died not knowing she had won.

"The reconstructive surgery should have marked a new beginning for Deborah but it ended tragically and the trust has now admitted that it failed in its duty of care to Mrs Yardley not once, but twice," said Ms Lewis.

Mr Yardley said he was left devastated by her death and described her as "my rock".