Family Welcomes Changes To Nursing Care As Hospital Learns Lessons From Tragic Death
05/05/2011
Medical law specialists at Irwin Mitchell have welcomed changes made by a Yorkshire hospital to improve nursing care, after a woman died from multiple organ failure following surgery for suspected pancreatic cancer.
Christine Johnson, 58, died on 21 April 2010 at St James’ University Hospital in Leeds from multiple organ failure, caused by complications arising from surgery, an inquest found. She had previously undergone surgery for suspected pancreatic cancer at the hospital in February 2010 and after a successful operation, Mrs Johnson was found not to have cancer.
She was discharged on 8 March but her condition deteriorated and she was re-admitted on 21 March with a suspected wound infection.
Her condition continued to deteriorate and she was returned to theatre to clean the wound but developed further complications, related to the drainage of fluid from her chest. On 16 April, her condition became so severe that her right leg had to be amputated above the knee.
She sadly died on 21 April, with the coroner, Mr David Hinchliff, recording a narrative verdict saying her death was a result of “multi-organ failure due to a pancreatic leak which was a complication arising from her original procedure”.
The hospital claims it has now improved procedures to the checks and notes staff make on drainages, a move that has been welcomed by medical law experts at Irwin Mitchell, representing the family, who say that lessons need to be learned to prevent similar cases.
Anna Bosley, a medical law specialist at law firm Irwin Mitchell, said: “Christine’s death left the family devastated. Mrs Johnson underwent major surgery which was successful but she developed complications and her condition deteriorated until her death two months later.
“The inquest was a very thorough investigation of the clinical aspects of Christine's treatment and care and provided answers that the family had been seeking. It is clear that Christine was a very unlucky woman whose recovery was compromised by a multitude of complications. There were some aspects of her care that were far from satisfactory but we hope that lessons have been learned from this. We welcome the fact that the hospital has made changes and hope that this ensures a higher standard of patient care in the future.”
Christine’s sister Jennifer Banks, from Undercliffe, Bradford said: “We welcome the findings of the inquest which has given us some answers into how Christine died. Nothing can bring Christine back however we remain concerned over the level of care she received. It was clear to us that her condition was getting worse. We just hope that lessons are learned from this so no one has to go through the same situation in future.”
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