Anaesthetist suspended for napping during surgery blames tax returns and his weight
Dr Thomas Herbst also argued it was common for anaesthetists to close their eyes during surgeries.
An UK anaesthetist has been suspended for six months after falling asleep during a patient’s shoulder surgery.
Dr Thomas Herbst blamed his work schedule, being “a bit too fat” and a late night doing his taxes for the September 2022 incident, the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service heard.
He was caring for the second patient on his list at the South West London Elective Orthopaedic Centre at Epsom General Hospital when he fell asleep while the surgeon put “knife to skin”, it said.
After noticing that Dr Herbst had nodded off, a surgical nurse asked an anaesthetist in the adjacent theatre to check on the patient, who was undergoing a shoulder arthroscopy.
