My mum died after Colchester Hospital treatment went wrong (From Gazette)

My mum died after Colchester Hospital treatment went wrong

3:30pm Monday 30th November 2009

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More stories about: Colchester Hospital

A WOMAN who claims her mother died after consultants messed up a routine procedure says she is not surprised the hospital has been criticised by health watchdog Monitor Sylvia Hall was admitted to Colchester General Hospital for a gastroscopy.

She started vomiting and her neck swelled up when she was discharged, and daughter, Lynda Muir, took her back to the hospital. She died four weeks later.

A coroner’s report revealed the death was caused by unnatural causes – a perforation of the esophagus which led to an abscess on her lung. As a result, an inquest was opened.

A solicitor has since advised Mrs Muir to sue the hospital.

She said: “This sort of thing is happening to too many people and not enough care is being taken.

“Even though I realise the Colchester hospital does some fantastic work, I feel there are areas within the hospital where there are serious problems and neglect.

“She vomited before they discharged her. I didn’t even get her to the car before she started vomiting and swelling up.

“She was in hospital for three weeks. She couldn’t eat or drink, so she had a feeding tube and a drip.

“They discharged her and then she collapsed. I took her to hospital and she was on oxygen as she couldn’t breathe.

“It was a horrendous way to watch someone die.

“I feel I have to fight my mum’s case. She cannot die in vain.”

Mark Prentice, spokesman for the hospital trust, said: “We would like to express our sympathy and most sincere condolences to all the family and friends of Sylvia Hall. We received a formal complaint from her daughter on October 26, and responded in detail earlier this week, to explain the care she received.

“We cannot comment publicly, in detail, on individual cases but we do apologise in our letter to Mrs Muir, because we accept her mother was not treated with dignity and respect at all times. The trust is committed to providing excellent care for all patients, regardless of their age or condition, and expects all staff to be committed to achieving this goal.

“Whenever patients or these families take the time to draw the trust’s attention to their concerns, we treat it as an excellent opportunity to review the care individual patients receive and to make changes, if appropriate.”

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