Husband calls for urgent review after death of wife given toxic dose of anaesthetic in Cambridge
Watch Matthew Hudson's report for ITV News Anglia
A husband whose wife died after being given a toxic dose of anaesthetic during a routine operation is calling for an urgent review to improve patient safety.
Dr Rachel Gibson, 47, suffered a cardiac arrest following hip replacement surgery at Spire Lea Hospital in Cambridge on 12 April, 2022.
She sustained irreversible brain damage and died at Addenbrooke’s Hospital three months later.
Dr Gibson's husband Cliff Gibson, 49, said his wife was "the most caring, kind, genuine person you'd ever like to meet".
He added: "We hear that a lot when people give tributes but, genuinely, she had this unique ability to keep friends from when she was four years old.
"All the way through her career she has this huge amount of friends which is quite rare."
Following his wife's death Mr Gibson said he had given up work and taken their autistic son Sam out of school to "give him the focus and time he needs".
"It's been a huge impact," he said. "I've lost my business, I can no longer work, (I'm a) single parent. But now the focus is on myself, Sam and rebuilding a new life."
In a Prevention of Future Deaths Report, the coroner raised concerns about "inconsistencies" in how anaesthetics were checked and administered.
He also raised concerns that instructions for giving the drug were not written down.
The coroner has written to the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCAO) calling for a review into their procedures.
Mr Gibson said he has been left "baffled" by the medical system that failed his wife.
"Rachel and I worked together in the pharmaceutical industry and everything was documented and controlled to an incredibly high standard and degree and you were held accountable for mistakes.
"So to know that a hospital could give a lethal dose of a drug without documenting it, it baffles me."
Mr Gibson said he was now campaigning to help improve patient safety.
"The only way to enact any change is to put yourself out there and do that and Rachel would have done the same thing," he said.
"She would have fought for this to have been changed. Through her career she was very much about patient safety and what's right for the patients."
A spokesman for Spire Lea Hospital said: "Spire Healthcare offers our very sincere condolences to the family of Dr Rachel Gibson for their loss."We note that the coroner, having heard the evidence, has taken the decision to raise a national issue with the appropriate body to consider if further action should be taken and we support this important step."
The Royal College of Anaesthetists said: "We send our condolences to the family of Dr Gibson for their loss.
"We have received the coroner's report and will examine this case in detail before responding by the 29 October.
"The RCoA is responsible for safeguarding standards in anaesthesia and we will do all we can to address the issues raised by the coroner to help prevent similar tragedies in future."
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