Patient sues Croydon out-of-hours doctor over leg loss
A man who had his leg amputated is suing a former out-of-hours doctor who failed to diagnose a blood clot.
Days after being seen by the Croydoc doctor in 2007 Brian Dowsett, 74, was diagnosed with an arterial obstruction and later underwent surgery.
Mr Dowsett, who lived in Croydon, south London, claims he was failed by the doctor who has since been struck off.
Patient Care 24, which took over the south London service from Croydoc this month, refused to comment.
The out-of-hours service covers a population of 950,000 patients in Croydon, Kingston and Sutton & Merton.
Mr Dowsett called the service in January 2007 when he developed a pain in his right leg, which had gone white.
He was seen by doctor Hans Raj Yadav, who had previously been suspended by a different out-of-hours provider over concerns about his clinical competence.
The doctor failed to diagnose an arterial obstruction above Mr Dowsett's right knee and advised him to see his GP.
Three days later he was admitted to hospital as an emergency case and subsequently had his leg amputated.
Mr Dowsett is also taking legal action against a second Croydoc doctor involved in his case.
He said: "I just wish now that he had said go to A&E, because I believe it would have been quite a comparatively easy thing, it was just an arterial clot, to sort the problem out."
An investigation by Croydon Primary Care Trust revealed Croydoc had failed to check references and was unaware Dr Hans Raj Yadav had previously been suspended.
Primary care trusts are responsible for commissioning groups of independent doctors or private companies to provide out-of-hours care.
In response to Mr Dowsett's case, Croydon Primary Care Trust said: "We would like to extend our sincere apologies to Mr Dowsett. All the recommendations raised by our investigation have since been implemented."
Patient Care 24 said it could not comment as the case was ongoing.