A DATE has been announced for the inquest into the death of a North-East woman who died after routine tonsil surgery using controversial disposable instruments.

Its outcome could decide whether the Government's medical advisors were right to tell surgeons to use the new equipment because of fears that ordinary surgical instruments might be spreading the human form of mad cow disease.

And despite a Department of Health ban on using the disposable instruments, it has been confirmed that some surgeons are still using them to remove tonsils.

The family of 33-year-old Elaine Basham, from Loftus, east Cleveland, has waited more than four years to find out why she died.

They believe the five-day, full jury inquest, which starts on February 22, may help explain why their daughter died.

Her death in November 2001 - together with the death of two-year-old Crawford Roney at a private hospital in Manchester five months earlier - cast doubt on the safety of disposable instruments.

Miss Basham underwent surgery to have her tonsils and adenoids removed at the North Riding Infirmary, in Middlesbrough, on November 5, 2001.

She developed complications soon after surgery. She was taken back to theatre as efforts were made to stop bleeding.

Surgeons used disposable surgical instruments containing a heating element during the operation, which had already been the cause of adverse reports - including bleeding problems - in another case at the infirmary only weeks earlier.

A month after Miss Basham's death, the disposable instruments were banned in England.

On behalf of the family, Richard Follis, a solicitor with law firm Alexander Harris, said: "The family have waited more than three years for the inquest into Elaine's death. The time delay has been very frustrating for them as they want to know the cause of her death.

"The family hope that the inquest will highlight their concerns over the use of single-use diathermy instruments.

"It may be the only chance that the family, and indeed the public, will have to discover why tried and tested surgical instruments were discarded in favour of largely untested disposable equipment.

"The experience of some surgeons was that the quality and reliability of some of the disposable instruments left a lot to be desired. No proper risk-benefit assessment seems to have been done.

"It is hoped that the inquest will explore this and other issues surrounding Elaine's tragic and unnecessary death."

David Proops, president of the ENT UK association of surgeons, said some surgeons in England were still using the disposable instruments.