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A Birmingham inquest heard today of the death of a 59-year-old woman who suffered a stroke and died after an operation to remove a lump on her neck.

Her husband and three grown up children have serious concerns about the operation and treatment Diane King received at the private Parkway Hospital in Solihull. The operation on the 11th November 2004 was expected to be 'straightforward' and take just one hour.

"After five hours in theatre a nurse explained that there had been a small bleed but it was nothing to worry about," said Diane's husband Eric King aged 60 from Meriden, West Midlands.

"An hour later the surgeon explained that whilst removing the lump he had nicked an artery and Diane had suffered a stroke."

By chance a vascular consultant in the theatre next door was on hand to help stop the bleeding. He was able to tie a knot in the artery. Doctors were unsure how serious the stroke was.

In the recovery ward Diane couldn't speak or swallow. "I stayed with her all night. I asked the surgeon if she was in any danger - the surgeon said there was no concern for her life," said Eric.

Over the next few days Diane's condition deteriorated. "Medical staff just weren't listening to us or answering our questions. We tried to get Diane transferred to another hospital because it was clear to me that she was getting worse. It took so long for her to be transferred - I don't know why when she was so ill? We were so concerned for Diane's life that I thought I would have to phone 999 to get her transferred to an NHS hospital," said Eric.

Within hours of being transferred to Solihull NHS hospital on 13th November 2004, Diane had a brain scan. It confirmed that she had very extensive brain damage. "We were told that due to the cut to the artery there had been internal bleeding - the right side of her brain was effectively dead and that she had a 2% chance of survival." Diane died the next morning on the 15th November 2004.

The lump on Diane's neck had been there for several years. She visited her GP after it began to hurt and she had also developed a sore throat. On the second visit to her GP she was referred to the Parkway Hospital in Solihull.

A biopsy on the lump revealed no abnormalities and an operation was scheduled for further investigation and to remove the lump.

"The whole family are very shocked and angry about what has happened. They have many questions that they need answers to so they can understand why Diane died. Why did the operation take more than five hours? Why weren't investigations done sooner to find out the extent of Diane's stroke? Why Diane was not urgently moved to Solihull Hospital? The inquest has now helped the family to address some of these questions," said their solicitor Louise Hunt, Partner at Alexander Harris and who specialises in clinical negligence including inquests and surgical errors.

The Coroner found that Mrs King died following surgery.

"Diane was the head of the family, we miss her desperately and will find the inquest very difficult to deal with," added Eric. Diane was the mother of Adrian King aged 31; Warren King 28; Nadine King 26 and grandmother to 2 year old Alfie.

Notes to Editors

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