Mother’s death prompts call for healthcare improvements

MEDICAL care for military families stationed overseas must be improved, a coroner has said, after a mother died following surgery in Cyprus.

Victoria Harrild-jones, from Suffolk, had an operation while living on the RAF base at Akrotiri in 2019.

The 41-year-old was not given an anti-coagulation drug after she was discharged and died six days later after developing a blood clot on a lung.

An investigation concluded that a UK hospital would have given her at least a two-week supply of the medication.

An inquest heard Ms Harrild-jones was discharged from the hospital in Limassol two days after undergoing gastric bypass surgery on Dec 19 2019.

She suffered convulsions at her home on Dec 27 and was pronounced dead an hour later.

Nigel Parsley, the senior coroner for Suffolk, said: “I am concerned that military personnel and their dependents, who receive inpatient secondary care from local providers whilst deployed overseas, may be provided treatment which falls below the standard expected in the UK.”

Mr Parsley sent his report to Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and urged him to take action to prevent further deaths.

Mr Parsley said Ms Harrild-jones had been prescribed a daily dose of an anticoagulation drug in hospital to reduce the risk of developing a thrombosis but it was discontinued when she was discharged.

The inquest was told this was standard practice in Cyprus, whereas UK guidelines state that the medication should be taken by patients for at least two weeks after they are discharged.