After Martha: Paul Laity on a preventable death

Summary

In the London Review of Books, Paul Laity reflects on his daughter's avoidable death in treatment following injury to her pancreas. Systemic failure, complacency, culture and lack of urgency at King's College Hospital.

Content

Paul Laity story of his daughter’s preventable death describes a familiar sequence of lack of urgency, a failure to listen, broken promises and an investigation process that does not seem to act in the patients or patients' families interests.

"I realised what patient safety campaigners have wearily reiterated for years: hospital scandals lead to inquiries, which lead to reports that produce a set of recommendations, which are ignored or not implemented."