Honey Rose manslaughter case will drive up NHS waiting times, court told

DailyTelegraph ^ | 8/26/16 | Sara Knapton

[originalbuckeye]

The manslaughter prosecution of an optometrist who failed to spot a schoolboy’s fatal condition will spark a culture of fear which will drive up NHS waiting times, a court was told. Honey Rose, 35, failed to notice that eight-year-old Vincent Barker had swollen optic discs - a symptom of fluid on the brain - when she examined him at a branch in Boots in Ipswich. He died five months later.

Yesterday Rose was sentenced to a two year suspended prison term and ordered to carry out 200 hours of community service. But her barrister Ian Stern QC warned that the outcome of the case would cause optometrists to act ‘in a more defensive way.’ "The conviction of Honey Rose is unprecedented; she is the first optometrist in the UK to face charges, and found to be guilty, of gross negligence manslaughter.

"The College of Optometrists Speaking of the consequences of the prosecution, he said: "Health professionals practise more defensive medicine. Hospital waiting gets longer, patients that don't have anything much wrong with them are seen by doctors which takes up valuable NHS resources and time, and the consequence is people who are genuinely ill have to wait longer." The landmark case is the first conviction of an optometrist for gross negligence manslaughter. Such cases generally involve multiple lapses over a period of time and involve obvious symptoms that would lead to a health practitioner referring someone for immediate treatment

But Judge Jeremy Stuart-Smith, said although it had been a "single lapse", the breach of duty was so serious that it was criminal. He told Rose: "You simply departed from your normal practice in a way that was completely untypical for you, a one-off, for no good reason."

[originalbuckeye]

At least this Dr was held somewhat accountable. But rarely does a grievous mistake get you into trouble when you are a Government employee. This is what's coming with single-payer. And did I tell you that the taxpayers foot the bill for students to go to medical, dental, etc, school? Then they pay an extra 15% in Fed taxes for the rest of their working lives, to get all this 'free' care. And the point of complaint in this article is 'this will just increase wait times'. Lord, please save us from single-payer.

[Mears]

He was examined at Boots——a drugstore chain like Walgreens.

Terrific.

.

[RushIsMyTeddyBear]

Yep. Which is where we’re headed. Already are. It will be ‘nurse practitioners’ and NO docs to be found.

Already happening at my doc and in our ER. AND IT SUCKS!!!!

[originalbuckeye]

Yes. An optometrist at a walk-in clinic. And yes, that is where we are heading.

[Bellflower]

So then all malpractice that leads to death is manslaughter.

[xp38]

I may be wrong but an optometrist isn’t a person with a medical degree. For that you need an ophthalmologist. Optician, optometrist, ophthalmologist. They do different things when it comes to eyecare.

[pieceofthepuzzle]

This is actually both horrible and ridiculous. It's horrible that this child had cerebral edema and increased intracranial pressure, but it is also ridiculous to expect and depend on optometrists working at a drug store chain to be the ones to make this diagnosis. Unless you dilate the pupil, and know what you are looking for, you won't find it - especially if you are doing an exam at a drug store where the expectation is likely that you will be doing very basic examinations.

Actually, it used to be standard that when you presented to an ED with significantly elevated blood pressure you would automatically have your optic discs evaluated. In most EDs this rarely happens anymore, so I can't imaging an optometrist in a drug store is going to routinely be looking for this - particularly in an 8 year old. If this poor child had presented to an experienced pediatrician's office, and had complaints that suggested the diagnosis, it might have been made earlier.

[Slip18]

You are so correct. Opticians makes glasses or contact lenses: optometrists get you an Rx for said glasses and/or contacts plus does regular testing for glaucoma and such. An opthalmologist is the doctor who can do everything except make the glasses.

It’s kind of like a psychologist and psychiatrist. The psychiatrist is the MD.

[az_gila]

He was examined at Boots——a drugstore chain like Walgreens.

Terrific.

---

I dunno, my really good optometrist is at Costco...:^)

He noticed old scars on my cornea (don't grind metal without safety glasses) that none of the other optometrists I have been to spotted.

[originalbuckeye]

I believe they determined that she could see the problem but neglected to diagnosis it.

[Robert DeLong]

While this is tragic for sure, I do have 1 little problem with this. That is the fact that 5 months passed between her examination and the boy's death.

2 separate scenarios arise for me. At least from what is available in this story.

1) Her exam may have been correct and his problem actually occurred after the visit.

2) His situation had to have worsened between that visit and his death and yet he was never taken to an optometrist by his parents to be reexamined.

The real problem here, at least to me, is socialized medicine, as it promotes eliminating what is so often referred to as "unnecessary" additional exams. Because cost and savings are more important than actual medical care. On top of it the option to sue is eliminated. So not only may you die due to a missed, or even botched, diagnosis, getting compensated monetarily is not an option either. You and your family are just SOL.

The old adage, be careful what you wish for because you just may get your wish, comes to mind.

[originalbuckeye]

Socialized Medicine will surely be a disaster for this country. People here really think they will get all the health care they need. But rationing health care is the only current way to lower health care costs. A rude awakening is awaiting all those Americans who think their health care problems will be solved, if we just have single payer.