Routine hip operation complications

70 year old Ronald Gifford of Bristol went into hospital for a routine hip operation. Three months and eight operations later, Mr Gifford has suffered two bouts of MRSA and is still unable to return home.

The operations have left him with a right leg three inches shorter than the left, and severe pain.

Mr Gifford’s wife Valerie, 62, has said:

“He’s in a much worse state now than when he went in and you almost wonder whether he would have been better off if he never had the operation.

“Doctors say he might never fully recover. He’s a changed man.”

Mrs Gifford’s ordeal is further exasperated by the £60 taxi fare for the 30-mile round trip to visit her husband in hospital. She is considering moving into bed and breakfast accommodation to be closer to him.

A Weston Area Health NHS Trust spokesperson said: “It is extremely unfortunate for any patient who has had a joint replacement when the result is not optimal.

“This does happen in a very small percentage of patients across the country and, though the complication rate here is the same as the national rate, we apologise for the fact that any patient has a complication.
"No service has a 100% total success rate for this procedure."


If you or a loved one are suffering from complications following a medical procedure, why not contact us and find out if you could be entitled to compensation?