Nurse of 35 years died in agony after NHS doctors’ blunder
She was told there was a backlog of 40 patients
A NURSE who dedicated 35 years to the NHS died after being left in agony by doctors who told her they had to see 40 other patients first.
Jeanette Bailey, 53, suffered painful complications after a high dose of blood-thinning drugs was not monitored, an inquest heard.
Doctors at Manchester Royal infirmary said nothing could have prevented the death of Mrs Bailey, a former theatre sister, from heart failure on February 18 last year.
But they have apologised for treatment that led to upper-arm compartment syndrome, in which raised pres- sure in body tissue reduces the blood supply and affects nerves and muscles, leaving sufferers in pain.
they admitted a ‘weakness in the system’ and care that was ‘not up to standard’.
Recording a narrative verdict, assistant Manchester coroner Jean Harkin said Mrs Bailey died of heart disease following cardiac surgery. But she added: ‘ there was a clear breakdown in the system which caused Mrs Bailey pain and suffering and that causes distress to her family.
‘Of admirable note is that this is admitted and apologies have been given in open court.
‘We need to make sure that these matters are monitored in future.’ the court heard that Mrs Bailey, a mother- of-three, from Droylsden, Manchester, had a number of health problems and had overcome leukaemia 20 years ago. She was admitted to hospital after a heart attack in October 2016, but doctors decided she was too ill for surgery.
She then developed sepsis and kidney failure and was put on dialysis, but was discharged from in December, despite complaining that she felt unwell.
Mrs Bailey had another heart attack and was admitted again on January 3, 2017. On February 16, she had urgent heart surgery, which was deemed successful, but two days later she died.
However, during her second stay in hospital she was forced to wait for antibiotics, even though she was in pain with compartment syndrome.
Her daughter Gemma Lawlor said: ‘She wasn’t given antibiotics straight away. they said there were 40 patients they had to see before my mum.
‘She had difficulty breathing and she was pale and had suffered a heart attack.’
She was given the blood-thinning drug Daltaparin for six days without checks being made. Miss Lawlor added: ‘Whilst in intensive care she had been given too much blood-thinning medication and developed compartment syndrome.’
the coroner found compartment syndrome did not contribute to Mrs Bailey’s death, but it should have been treated sooner and ‘kept on top of’. Mrs Bailey was prescribed Daltaparin to prevent blood clots or a stroke. Renal consultant David Morton said she would have received a higher dose than usual in critical care and this should have been monitored better.
He admitted this error led to compartment syndrome, which led to ‘a lot of discomfort’.
Mrs Bailey’s death led to a review of monitoring for patients on anticoagulants.
Pharmacist tony Dunne said: ‘if checks were made on the use of the blood thinner when they were supposed to be then Jeannette wouldn’t have developed compartment syndrome. the issue was not how much of the drug she was given but the lack of monitoring.’
÷At LEAST 19 patients died as a result of major ambulance delays at one trust this winter, a whistleblower has claimed.
the incidents occurred in the East of England a trust over three weeks to early January. the whistleblower told Health Service Journal as many as 80 patients could have died or suffered harm. it was claimed a cardiac arrest patient died in Norwich after a seven hour ambulance wait. Another, from Lowestoft, apparently froze to death.
A trust spokesman said it was investigating after being unable to respond to a ‘ very small number calls’.