Lessons not learnt regarding Alina Sarag's death - TB Alert

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Lessons not learnt regarding Alina Sarag's death

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I read the article regarding Alina Sarag's death with great dismay. Thirty or so years ago my dad in law died of pulmonary tuberculosis that affected his heart at seventy years of age. He had tuberculosis after the war and was admitted to sanatoriums twice but the antibiotic 'streptomicin' kept him alive at those times.

When he was seventy he developed the same symptoms that he had previously all those years before with blood in his sputum. He had an operation on his lungs but continued to go downhill........ He died a few weeks after the operation but it is unforgivable that none of the medical team ' looking after his care' suspected Tuberculosis!

My wife tells me that the heart surgeon told her that "if only 'they' had done a sputum test it would have shown he had TB".......... This underlines the fact that not a lot has been learned by some of the medical profession who should have known better than to not have done the sputum test and is identical it seems to Alina Sarag.

I see that some of the operatives overseeing the episode of Alina Sarag still do not see the error of their ways and insist that the system is correct....... That statement is patent rubbish and is grossly ignorant and arrogant. Those who are responsible for the statement they made should be rebuked in no uncertain terms and be made toi wise up and drastically so because they are giving out the message that they simply do not care if the same happens again. As the system is it will happen again.

I am told by a medical professional that it is relied upon by doctors for patients to inform doctors of the patients old medical history....... I find that quite ridiculous.The system must be changed so that legislation makes all doctors refer to previous medical history and most definitely not rely on a patient for that educational info.

Someone in medical legislation said that a correct diagnosis relies 80% on past medical history so why don't doctors know that?

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Dana02 profile image
Dana02

Yes it's true and sad. I think that such a developed country like the U.K should have a much more efficient way to deal with the TB, from diagnosing it to the follow up after the treatment. I come from a Eastern European country, and there once you have had TB they test you every single year as they consider it a very serious disease.

There is too much pressure on the medical staff in the UK as the health budget is always low and I feel everything is rushed... The doctors should focus solely on treating the patients in the best possible way, not on how to save money...