- Blood tests reveal afterwards that the benign tumour could have been treated with tablets
Last updated at 5:03 PM on 23rd August 2011
A blundering surgeon left a long-serving paramedic needing 24-hour care after they removed the wrong part of his brain during a botched operation he did not even need.
John Tunney, from Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, underwent a biopsy on a pituitary tumour, but the doctor sliced off healthy brain tissue which led to a serious haemorrhage.
Afterwards they found the tumour was benign, meaning that it could have been treated with tablets.
Tragic: Pamela Tunney with her husband retired paramedic John Tunney who was left severely disabled after bungling surgeons mistakenly removed the wrong part of his brain
Mr Tunney has been left with permanent brain injuries, including memory loss and partial loss of sight, leaving him incapable of dealing with his own affairs and needing constant supervision.
He also cannot walk without the aid of a stick.
University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust has now admitted liability for the mistakes, paving the way for Mr Tunney to receive financial compensation for lifelong medical support.
His wife, Pamela, 64, said: 'John's brain injury has had devastating effects on him. Prior to the surgery he was a very easy going person who was always active and on the go. To see the change in him and to know that it was all entirely avoidable is extremely upsetting.
'As a paramedic, John put his complete trust in his surgeon, believing that he was an expert who knew best.
'It is appalling to think the surgeon managed to botch the procedure completely and then to find that the biopsy wasn't even necessary makes me incredibly angry.
Dedicated: John Tunney worked for the NHS for 23 years and is pictured receiving his long-service award from West Midlands Ambulance Service in 2005
'We were both taking early retirement and planning to move to Pembrokeshire when this happened and changed everything.
'John was so capable before and now, although he can speak, he isn't aware of everything around him.
'He'll ask me what day it is, then forget and ask again a few hours later. He's a completely different person.
'This mistake is not something the hospital can just take back.
'I pray they don't make this mistake again and that no other family has to experience seeing their husband suffer the pain and loss that John has.'
Mr Tunney's solicitor Timothy Deeming, from the Irwin Mitchell law firm, also said surgery was carried out unnecessarily as blood tests were done, but not reviewed before the biopsy, which showed the patient had a benign condition called prolactinoma.
University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust (pictured) have accepted responsibility for the error
Mr Tunney, now aged 63, had worked for the NHS for 23 years.
He was based at West Midlands Ambulance Service's Small Health ambulance station but his brain injury, on April 29, 2008, left him unable to work.
Mr Deeming called for the General Medical Council to investigate the conduct of the surgeon responsible.
'The fact the surgeon managed to remove perfectly healthy tissue rather than a sample of the tumour tissue is, in itself, an appalling error,' said Mr Deeming.
'To then find the procedure was totally unnecessary because clinicians had failed to review a blood test, really does add insult to injury.
'We also very much hope the Trust has reviewed its procedures and where necessary retraining has taken place to ensure that lessons are learnt to protect patients' safety in the future.'
Richard Kennedy, Chief Medical Officer at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, said: 'I very much regret the tragic outcome for Mr Tunney and his family and on behalf of the Trust would like to apologise for this.
'Since 2008, this case has been thoroughly reviewed through our governance process and I am confident that measures have been put in place to prevent this type of incident reoccurring.
'We now collaborate with expert clinicians at other trusts in these kinds of cases.'
National Horror Story again! @ Gill -even if you knew their quals and experience - if they had a bad day = road rage in OT. Not surprised - they wanted to inject me without any idea if it would improve condition or not! Postponed due to other things, rescheduled "asap" for 2 days after scan. I asked if scan result would be available before injection "Yeah they see it before injecting" - & continue!! Scan Doctor said should not have injection, would not improve, might be worse. At appt they mysteriously changed their mind & didn't give injection!!! Next appt, clearly angry, tried to railroad me into having the injection "for a different reason" - despite no possible improvement. You think cowboy builders are bad - why are we the victims of COWBOY MEDICAL STAFF? Are we in the Middle Ages again?
- Harry, uk, 23/8/2011 16:03
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