Dr Andrew Breen

Dr Andrew Breen is a Consultant in Intensive Care Medicine and Anaesthesia at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, a position he has held since 2005. He holds national leadership responsibilities within the Intensive Care Society, the UK's principal professional body for intensive care medicine, reflecting his standing within the specialty.

Dr Breen has been preparing medico-legal reports since 2016 and holds the Cardiff University/Bond Solon Civil Expert Certificate (2024). He accepts instructions from claimant and defendant solicitors in clinical negligence matters, and is also experienced in supporting coronial and criminal proceedings, including giving oral evidence in the Coroner's Court and Crown Court.

Medico-Legal Expertise

Dr Breen's medico-legal practice centres on clinical negligence in the fields of intensive care medicine and anaesthesia. He prepares expert reports on breach of duty, causation, and condition and prognosis, and has particular expertise in cases involving:

• Post-intensive care syndrome (PICS): Dr Breen has considerable experience in the assessment of long-term physical, cognitive, and psychological sequelae following critical illness and ICU admission. He regularly prepares condition and prognosis reports addressing the impact of critical illness on quality of life, functional capacity, and return to work.
• Sepsis and septic shock: including the recognition, escalation, and management of sepsis across hospital environments, and the consequences of delayed or suboptimal treatment.
• Respiratory failure and mechanical ventilation: including the management of acute respiratory failure, ventilator-associated complications, and weaning.
• Cardiovascular failure and shock: including haemodynamic monitoring, vasopressor therapy, and fluid resuscitation.
• Peri-operative care: including anaesthetic management, postoperative deterioration, and failure to recognise the acutely unwell surgical patient.
• Intravenous fluid therapy: Dr Breen has lectured at national conferences — including the Intensive Care Society State of the Art conference and the Acute and General Medicine conference — on the safe prescribing of intravenous fluids, and has particular experience in cases involving harm from inappropriate fluid management. He is a founding member of the IV Fluid quality improvement charity “Turning the Tide”
• Airway management: including complications of intubation and failed airway scenarios.
• Delayed treatment of the deteriorating patient: including cases involving failure of escalation and substandard recognition of critical illness on the ward.

Dr Breen is able to accept instructions in both civil and coronial proceedings, and has experience of giving evidence in the Crown Court and Coroner's Court.

Intensive Care Medicine — Clinical Background

Dr Breen's clinical practice encompasses the full breadth of general and specialist intensive care, including liver failure and transplantation, upper GI and bariatric surgery, cardiothoracic surgery, and haematology and oncology. His clinical interests include point-of-care ultrasound, the ethics of care escalation, and prognostication and decision-making at the end of life.

Anaesthesia — Clinical Background

Dr Breen's anaesthetic practice covers general surgery and the specialist areas of thoracic, hepatobiliary, and upper GI and bariatric surgery. His clinical interests include cardiovascular management, vascular access, preoperative assessment, airway management, and the prevention and management of postoperative complications.

Professional Registration GMC: 4221988

Cardiff University Bond Solon Civil Expert Certificate (2024)