NHS faces clinical negligence action after nurse switches off life support

Posted 24/10/2010

An NHS trust is facing legal action for clinical negligence after a nurse switched off a patient’s life support machine, leaving him permanently brain damaged.

Jamie Merrett had been paralysed from the neck down in a car accident in 2002, but was able to operate a wheelchair using voice commands. He had had CCTV fitted in his bedroom because he had become increasingly concerned about the standards of care he was receiving.

He was being looked after at home when agency nurse Violetta Aylward turned off the ventilator keeping him alive, actions clearly caught on the camera.

Paramedics arrived 21 minutes later, but Mr Merrett had already suffered brain injuries by then and was left with the mental capacity of a young child.

His sister Karren Reynolds told BBC programme Inside Out: “His life is completely changed. He doesn’t have a life now.”

The family is taking legal action against NHS Wiltshire Primary Care Trust for its failures in providing appropriate standards of care.

Anyone who feels they have been affected by clinical negligence should seek the advice of trained solicitors as soon as possible, as strict time limits apply when mounting legal action.