Ib-Salut has acknowledged that Inca Hospital committed medical negligence in the care of Bárbara Arrom, a 74-year-old resident of Lloseta, who died in January 2024 after a delay in diagnosis and referral to Son Espases. The resolution sets compensation at €107,413.14 for her eight children.
Bárbara Arrom, a resident of Lloseta, passed away on January 15, 2024, after spending nearly three days in Inca Hospital with severe abdominal pain. Ib-Salut has now admitted that there was a delay in diagnosing mesenteric ischemia and in her referral to Son Espases, which reduced her chances of survival. The family will receive compensation of €107,413.14, but they assert that the aim was not financial, but rather to acknowledge the negligence.
A pacemaker that affected care
The events began on the afternoon of January 12, 2024, when Bárbara Arrom experienced severe abdominal pain at home. Her children, aware that she had a pacemaker that had previously prevented a surgical intervention at Inca Hospital, requested that she be referred directly to Son Espases. However, the ambulance followed protocol and took her to the local hospital.
Two months prior, the patient had suffered a humeral fracture, and when she was ready to enter surgery in Inca, the anaesthetist determined that she could not be operated on there due to the type of pacemaker. Therefore, her children repeatedly insisted that if she needed surgery, she should be transferred to Son Espases.
Progressive deterioration and a late transfer
During the following two days, Bárbara Arrom remained under observation at Inca Hospital. Initially, the doctors considered discharging her, but changed their minds after a new episode of vomiting. The family inquired several times why no further tests were being conducted or why the patient was not being transferred, as her condition worsened. By Sunday, January 14, she was already presenting with sepsis and was admitted to the ICU of the local hospital. The doctors then communicated that she was too ill to be transferred and that she might not survive the journey.
However, the next day, Monday, January 15, they decided to refer her to Son Espases, where she underwent emergency surgery for suspected intestinal ischemia. During the operation, the surgeons found that necrosis had already affected almost the entire intestine and that there was no possibility of treatment or survival. Bárbara Arrom passed away that same afternoon, 71 hours after requesting the ambulance.
The family calls for a review of care protocols
The Ib-Salut resolution considers it established that the diagnosis of mesenteric ischemia was delayed, significantly reducing the chances of survival. The compensation of €107,413.14 will go to the eight children of the deceased, but the family insists that the process was not initiated for economic reasons.
“We want people to feel encouraged to report when they believe there has been negligence and for these claims to help improve healthcare,”explained the youngest daughter on behalf of her siblings.
For the residents of Lloseta and the entire Raiguer region, this case highlights the need to review the referral protocols between Inca Hospital and Son Espases, especially for patients with complex conditions such as pacemaker carriers. The family hopes that the acknowledgment of negligence will prevent similar situations from occurring and encourage others affected to come forward.
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