Mum died of sepsis 10 days after begging doctor for help
A MOTHER of five died of sepsis ten days after she was sent home from an ‘understaffed’ GP surgery which had found ‘no signs of infection’, an inquest heard.
Over the following days, Sarah Dunn suffered worsening symptoms but was offered only painkillers and a follow-up telephone appointment with her doctor.
Yesterday her family said she had been let down by doctors, describing her as a ‘beautiful young lady’ who would still be alive were it not for her misdiagnosis.
The 31-year-old, from Blackpool, had sought help from her family doctor after suffering bleeding following an abortion. The procedure is known to carry a rare risk of infection which can led to deadly sepsis.
Miss Dunn was one of 5,000 patients at the city’s Elizabeth Street Surgery which had just one doctor, Blackpool Town Hall was told.
The surgery closed its doors last week following a damning ‘inadequate’ rating from the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which carried out an inspection in May.
On April 1 last year, Miss Dunn attended an appointment with Dr Sanjeev Maharaj who took standard blood tests – which did not show any sign of infection – and said she appeared ‘fairly well’.
After being sent home, Miss Dunn continued to suffer and sought help several times. On April 9, she called the surgery to complain of nausea, sweating, and abdominal pain. But a pharmacist assumed the symptoms were due to a lack of painkillers and arranged for a telephone appointment with Dr Maharaj the next day.
Miss Dunn continued to deteriorate and by the time she spoke with her GP an ambulance had already been called to her house.
Miss Dunn was taken to Blackpool Victoria Hospital, where tests revealed high levels of CRP in her blood – a protein released when the body has an infection. She died in hospital on April 11 – almost four weeks after the termination.
Her mother Marie Dunn said: ‘Sarah had her whole life ahead of her and we will never accept or come to terms with her loss... My heart will be forever broken.’ The inquest, which is due to last all week, continues.