• My Story
• Biography
• Timeline
• Published Article on Case
• The Evans Enquiry
• Newspaper Cuttings
• The Breakthrough Programme
• Petition
• Kelly's Poem
• Contact Me

In 2004-05, a survey of NHS acute, ambulance and mental health Trusts found 974,000 patient safety incidents (PSI's) were reported.
Hospital acquired infections were estimated to increase the PSI figures by around 300,000 incidents. It is estimated that about 50% of these incidents are preventable (National Audit Office 2005:1).

It is estimated from International studies that at least a quarter of these figures may relate to medically negligent PSI's, yet in 2005-06 there were only 5, 697 legal claims (NHSLA 2006) making about 2% of all possible claims.

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I fully support Ms Ocloo's fight to have the circumstances surrounding her daughter's death properly and independently investigated.

" Ms Ocloo's case is especially pertinent given that Parliament is currently debating the NHS Redress Bill. This is supposed to give patients and relatives speedier access to justice and compensation when things go wrong. However, despite the fine aims, there are flaws in the Bill that as they currently stand, will not deliver the type of independent investigation of adverse incidents that most are agreed are crucial to guaranteeing fairness and credibility and helping to bring to an end acrimonious litigation that at the end of the day benefits no-one."

Sarah Teather MP

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AvMA supports Josephine’s quest for justice

Krista’s case is a poignant example of so much that is wrong with the systems for investigating and responding to medical errors and the barriers to accessing justice. Her mother’s determination to ensure that lessons are learnt for the benefit of others also typifies the feelings of thousands of families who have lost loved ones as a result of avoidable errors".

Peter Walsh, Chief Executive, Action against Medical Accidents (AvMA)

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My Story

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Krista Ocloo, my daughter was born in 1979 with a congenital cardiac abnormality which was successfully repaired at the Royal Brompton Hospital shortly before her second birthday. Krista went on to lead a completely happy and normal life with her twin sister Kelly, until she started to complain of chest pain in 1995. This led to an admission to the Brompton for an exploratory catheterisation in January 1996. I was subsequently told that nothing had been found and that Krista was perfectly all right and would be sent another appointment in due course. However, despite a reminder call from Krista in June 1996, an appointment was not scheduled by the Brompton until a year after Krista's catheterisation in January 1997. On 5th December 1996 I found Krista dead at home in bed. The post-mortem revealed death from acute heart failure.

I have fought a long battle to get an independent investigation and open and honest answers, but have consistently been met with lies, deception and cover-up. I was denied an Inquest into Krista's death and therefore felt forced to go through both stages of the NHS Complaints Procedure and a wider NHS Inquiry in my quest for answers and justice. All of these inquiries lacked independence and conspicuously failed to tell me the truth claiming no negligence was involved in my daughter's death

Given this situation I decided to bring a civil action against the hospital in 2001. A legal ruling of negligence was made against the hospital. Yet I still lost my case because I did not prove both negligence and causation. In order to win a medical negligence case, a claimant has to prove not only negligence, but that the negligence is directly causative of the harm incurred. As a result of losing my case, costs of £120'000 were awarded against me, which were only reduced to £10'000, when I took my case to the media. Legal advice subsequently revealed that I had good grounds for lodging an appeal. However I was initially prevented from doing so by the enormous costs order awarded against me. Had I attempted to appeal, the NHSLA who fight claims on behalf of the NHS, would have moved to bankrupt me. Once the costs situation was resolved, I applied to the Legal Services Commission for funding to lodge an appeal. They turned down my application leaving me with no means of funding further access to the courts. Unlike with criminal cases no other means exist to rectify this Miscarriage of Justice.

Since Krista died the system has completely and utterly failed to provide me with a way to independently establish the facts concerning my daughter's death and any culpability. This has caused my family and I absolute heartbreak and misery for ten years. Not only am I still waiting for justice, but absolutely no-one has been held to account for their actions as a result of my daughter's death.