Inquest into suspected death from TB

AN inquest has opened into the death of a Nottinghamshire nurse believed to have died of tuberculosis.

Carrianne Franks died at Bassetlaw District Hospital, in Worksop, on August 28 last year.

The 30-year-old nurse had been hospitalised for nine weeks with an unknown illness – she died 24 hours after doctors determined she had tuberculosis.

Ms Franks sent a text to her parents after she was finally diagnosed to say: “Mum, they found out what I have. I’ve got TB.”

RAF sergeant Carrianne had worked as a flight nurse for 10 years and was on a three-year deployment at London’s Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.

She was treating people on the coronavirus wards and was one of the first to volunteer to work at London’s Nightingale Hospital.

After her diagnosis, her family say she was placed into a coma and later died.

Ms Franks ended up in Lincoln Hospital, where she remained for five weeks before being discharged.

She was rushed back three days later, being taken to Bassetlaw. It was there she was eventually moved to intensive care.

Carrianne’s dad Chris said she was “so full of life and had everything to live for”, adding that her family were “broken” by her death.

A provisional date was set for the full hearing on the week starting May 15, 2023.

TB is a bacterial infection spread through inhaling tiny droplets from coughs or sneezes of an infected person.

It mainly affects the lungs, but it can affect any part of the body, including the abdomen, glands, bones and nervous system. It can be cured if treated with the right antibiotics.