Health facing class action lawsuit over "inappropriate" prescribing

Tuesday 19 December 2023

Jersey's Rheumatology Department is facing a potential clinical negligence class action lawsuit from patients who recently discovered that they had been wrongly prescribed powerful drugs.

A recent audit of the Rheumatology Department revealed that more than 170 patients did not meet the accepted criteria for the drugs they had been given.

Law firm Viberts today confirmed that it was acting for "multiple claimants" in regards to the "potential prescription error" – and that they may pursue a "potential class action", if more people who were impacted come forward.

In a post on their website, Viberts described the recent rheumatology audit's findings as "shocking" and "concerning", explaining that they "highlight some serious issues within the rheumatology service, which has given rise to potential clinical negligence claims".

Following a recommendation from the Royal College of Physicians, the Health department conducted an audit of rheumatology patient records earlier this year.

Pictured: Rheumatology deals with arthritis and several other conditions that affect the joints, tendons, muscle, ligaments.

The audit involved checking the past treatment and diagnosis of a group of 341 rheumatology patients – all of whom who were prescribed a group of drugs known as ‘biologics’ in the period before January 2022.

Biologics are a group of powerful drugs derived from natural sources such as human, animal, fungal or microbial cells. These drugs work by suppressing the immune system and disrupting the inflammation process that leads to joint pain. 

However, they can make patients more susceptible to life-threatening infections.

Published in August, the preliminary findings of the audit of Rheumatology Department records said that more than 170 local patients receiving biologic therapy did not meet the accepted criteria for starting this treatment.

At the time, the Health Minister said that it was "too early to determine whether anybody's been harmed by [the inappropriate prescribing of biologic agents]".

The preliminary findings of the audit also indicated that there was insufficient evidence in the patient case notes to confirm the diagnosis of around one-third of patients who were first diagnosed with a rheumatological condition in Jersey.

Deputy Karen Wilson also admitted that these "serious problems" around the diagnosis and treatment of rheumatology patients may also extend into other areas of healthcare. 

Pictured: The Health Minister, Deputy Karen Wilson admitted that the "serious problems" may also extend into other areas of healthcare.

Rheumatology patients said they were left feeling “frightened” and “in the dark” due to “shambolic” communication from Health after the audit's preliminary findings were made public.

It was confirmed that the two doctors at the centre of the review were "no longer undertaking clinical work".

At the time, Government officials declined to confirm whether the doctors were still officially employed or not but it later emerged that that senior rheumatology doctor Dr Michael Richardson's "clinical practice remains restricted as a result of a recent General Medical Council hearing".

The audit of the Rheumatology Department was just one part of a wider review of the department. 

Express revealed last week that the publication of the Royal College of Physicians' external review of the Rheumatology Department had been pushed back until next year.

The external report, which was initiated in April following concerns that some local rheumatology patients were not receiving the best treatment, was expected at the end of September.

The Government confirmed that a draft report has now been received from the Royal College of Physicians, but explained that Health and Community Services will now conduct a fact check before sharing the findings of the report in the new year.

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