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19:11, 16-Dec-2017
Surgeon admits 'mistake' in marking patients’ livers
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Two patients found out that their livers were marked SB – their liver surgeon Simon Bramhall’s initials – when they made a return visit to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in the central English city of Birmingham in 2013.
Bramhall, 53, pleaded guilty to two charges at Birmingham Crown Court on Wednesday and will be sentenced on January 12.
He admitted assault by beating but denied the charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm – pleas accepted by prosecutors.
Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital /BBC Photo
Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital /BBC Photo
The mark is not believed to be harmful to the liver and generally disappears as time goes by. However, in very rare cases when the damaged organ does not heal, the marks can be seen later, as happened in the two cases before the court.
In 2014, Bramhall resigned after a disciplinary hearing with University Hospitals Birmingham Foundation Trust.
Simon Bramhall covered his face as he left Birmingham Crown Court. /BBC Photo
Simon Bramhall covered his face as he left Birmingham Crown Court. /BBC Photo
“This had been a highly unusual and complex case both within the expert medical testimony served by both sides and in law,” said prosecutor Tony Badenoch.
Bramhall’s actions were considered as having a disregard “for the feelings of unconscious patients,” the prosecutor added.