What constitute ‘basic requirements’ in respect of history & clinical examination? Dr David Levy considers the evidence
- Wilsher established that a hospital doctor should be judged by the standard of care appropriate to the post.
- FB has distinguished doctors’ generic core skills of history taking and clinical examination.
In 2003, 25 years after Martin Wilsher was born prematurely at the Princess Alexandra Hospital Harlow, a 13-month-old infant, FB, was admitted to the Emergency Department (ED) of the same hospital. Wilsher developed retinopathy of prematurity. Whereas his claim against the hospital Wilsher v Essex Area Health Authority [1988] AC 1074 was rejected by the House of Lords on causation, breach—specifically the standards of care provided by trainee doctors—was a principal focus of the arguments in the Court of Appeal ( Wilsher v Essex Area Health Authority [1987] QB 730). In FB v Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust [2017] EWCA Civ 334 causation was not at issue. However, in upholding FB’s appeal, important dicta were made on judicial expectations of trainee doctors working in the NHS.
FB
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