Woman, 69, died after she was sent home with sepsis
Great-grandmother ‘had to wait almost 90 minutes for ambulance’
A GREAT-grandmother died ten days after being sent home from hospital with a sepsis infection following a routine operation, the High Court has heard.
The court also heard that Christine Doyle, 69, was left waiting almost 90 minutes for an ambulance.
Her widower, Colm Doyle, sued the HSE for damages following the death of his wife in September 2013. After the case was settled yesterday, their daughter Dympna Cromb said the family was ‘extremely relieved that mistakes around my mother’s care have finally been publicly recognised’.
She added: ‘However, we are absolutely disgusted that it has taken four years from her passing before this has happened. We hope lessons have been learned, and clinical practices have changed, so other families do not unnecessarily Tragic case: Christine Doyle lose a loved one.’
Mr Doyle’s counsel, Richard Kean SC, had told Mr Justice Kevin Cross that it was a ‘tragic and disturbing case’. He said Mrs Doyle had attended the Midland Regional Hospital in Mullingar, Co. Westmeath, to have gallstones removed on August 28, 2013.
‘It was to be a straightforward procedure,’ he told the court.
Mr Kean said Mrs Doyle remained in hospital for ten days, and that while she was there she developed a significant infection, or sepsis, which was treated with intravenous antibiotics.
She was also re-started on warfarin, having been taken off the blood-thinning drug four days before her operation, he said.
‘The major issue in this case is that she was discharged home [on September 6], despite the presence of the ongoing infection,’ said Mr Kean.
‘A disturbing factor for the family was that they had to literally carry her to the car... Her condition was very poor, and she deteriorated rapidly.’
Mr Kean said that on September 16, she suffered a major haemorrhage. It was claimed this had been exacerbated by the warfarin. He said an aspect of the case which continued to trouble the family was that after Mrs Doyle went into shock, and a 999 call was made, it took almost an hourand-a-half for the ambulance to arrive.
Despite the family’s efforts to save her, she died before the ambulance came. It was claimed that the HSE had failed to keep Mrs Doyle in hospital until the sepsis was treated adequately.
And it was claimed medics had failed to identify or prevent the risk that her infection could lead to the erosion of a major blood vessel, and allowing her condition to deteriorate to the point that she had a massive haemorrhage.
The claims of negligence were denied by the HSE, which said the monitoring of Mrs Doyle and the decision to discharge her home on oral antibiotics were ‘reasonable in the circumstances’.
Judge Cross approved a settle- ment of the case, which was made without an admission of liability by the HSE. It included a payment of compensation to the family for their mental distress following her death, which is capped by law at just over €25,000.
A letter was issued to Mr Doyle, of Ballinalee, Longford, by Shona Schneemann, general manager of the Midland Regional Hospital. She wrote: ‘We wish to offer our sincere sympathies to you and your family, and to express our sorrow regarding your late wife Christine’s tragic death on September 16, 2013.’
In a statement, the deceased’s daughter Ms Cromb said: ‘The emotional torment we have endured as a family over the last four years is completely unacceptable and needless. Although the HSE has passed on their condolences, we are disappointed that they have not given any details of measures that have been put in place since our mother’s passing, to prevent this happening again.’
‘They had to carry her to the car’