Investigation into botched NHS surgery will focus on three deaths

Agnes Nicol, 50, had been operated on by Mr Lal Singh, a general surgeon, who had performed keyhole surgery.

Mrs Nicol, of Carluke, Lanarkshire, is one of three patients whose deaths will be examined.

She had been sent to Wishaw General Hospital to have her gallbladder removed in December 2005.

Mrs Nicol had been suffering from gallstones but had expected to be discharged from hospital soon after her scheduled operation.

But a blunder by Dr Singh, 65, saw Mrs Nicol suffer a massive blood-loss, and senior surgeons had to be called in to help complete the procedure.

Mrs Nicol survived the operation but died three months later in Edinburgh’s Royal Infirmary after developing complications linked to her surgery.

Her death and those of two other people who had similar operations are now being investigated by Sheriff Robert Dickson.

Yesterday, the first day of a fatal accident inquiry at Cumbernauld Justice of the Peace Court, heard a report into Mrs Nicol’s care found that Mr Singh had cut the wrong artery which caused the catastrophic haemorrhage.

Under questioning from depute fiscal Anne Ferguson, he said: “I remember the case from the first day I was involved in the operation until now.

“I remember her every day and night and I have not forgotten it for a single day.

“I deeply regret that I didn’t know what had happened initially and it wasn’t until after the investigation later on that I found out.

“There was a misidentification of the artery. I thought there may have been an anatomical variation.”

Mr Singh, who retired in July this year, said his attempts at identifying arteries were hampered because Mrs Nicol had an inflamed gallbladder.

He then told the court that opting for performing open surgery on Mrs Nicol would have been a better decision.

The inquiry had earlier heard another doctor deny claims Mr Singh had allowed him to carry out part of the operation on Mrs Nicol.

Ahmed Ali, 42, who was a trainee surgeon in December 2005, told the investigation he had held a camera in place during the procedure but had not operated on Mrs Nicol.

He said: “Doctor Singh had told me that I could do some of the operation under his supervision.

“However, very early in the operation, Mr Singh said it was a difficult case and he would have to do it himself.

“There have been inquiries into this at the hospital, the health board and the General Medical Council, and I haven’t been called to give evidence at any of them because I was not doing the operation, I was just holding the camera.”

The inquiry, which is expected to last for four weeks, is also set to examine the deaths of George Johnstone, 54, and Andrew Ritchie, 62.

Mr Ritchie, a steelworker from Motherwell, and Mr Johnstone, a company boss from Airdrie, died in May and June 2006 respectively. They had also had surgery on their gallbladders in Lanarkshire.

l The gallbladder is a small organ that aids mainly in fat digestion and concentrates bile produced by the liver, increasing its potency.

The organ can be affected by gallstones, which can cause severe pain and require hospital treatment. The gallbladder can also become infected and inflamed, and in some cases has to be removed. However, the human body can cope without the gallbladder.