Tears as doctor is cleared

A Shropshire woman was left in tears after a top surgeon who performed a botched operation which resulted in her daughter's death walked away from a General Medical Council hearing.

Louise Field, 27, died two days after vascular surgeon Dr Michael Ormiston accidentally punctured her lung and pumped gas into her stomach at the BUPA Hospital, Harpenden, Herts.

Dr Ormiston admitted making inaccurate records after the operation and was slammed by the GMC panel yesterday for "significant departures from good medical practice".

The panel cleared him, however, of serious misconduct and found that his fitness to practise was not impaired.

The panel also decided against issuing the surgeon with a warning.

Miss Field's mother Patricia Green, together with her husband Philip, had travelled down to London from Newport for the hearing.

Mrs Green wept on hearing Dr Ormiston could carry on with an unblemished medical record.

She said: "It makes me so angry and frustrated. But it's our daughter - we had to do everything we could."

Dr Ormiston faced a disciplinary hearing, along with anaesthetist Dr Wasfy Yanny, for their management of the operation.

GMC chairman Brian Alderman told Dr Ormiston yesterday: "Given the history and public nature of this case, the panel is of the view that you are now unlikely to lose sight of the standards to which you are expected to adhere as a medical practitioner.

"The panel therefore considers that there would be little benefit to the public if a warning were to be given.

Trainee accountant Ms Field had chosen to suppress the nerves behind her left and right ribs to cure excessive sweating on March 20, 2002.

By Simon Hardy