'My husband nearly died because nurses missed signs of sepsis'

A woman has demanded answers from the NHS after her husband nearly died from sepsis that was "missed" by nurses.

Carole Williams said her husband John had been visited by community nurses at their home in Cayton, North Yorkshire, just hours before his leg turned purple.

She claimed the 76-year-old had also been deemed medically fit to leave Scarborough Hospital that same week, having spent three weeks in their care.

The hospital trust said they were in contact with Mrs Williams to understand and investigate her concerns.

Mr Williams was initially admitted to hospital after having a fall at home.

As well as having spinal and heart problems, Mr Williams suffered with ulcers on his legs, which community nurses came to dress daily.

However, while in hospital, his wife was told this would be done every third day.

"Within an hour, his bed and the dressings were soaking wet," Mrs Williams, 53, said.

"He was getting left in bed all day and the only time they'd get him up was to go on a chair next to the bed, so his mobility was going."

With concerns about how much he was moving, Mrs Williams said she had asked hospital staff what was preventing her husband from returning home.

The alleged response was that they were waiting to arrange a care programme but he was otherwise medically fit for discharge.

Mr Williams then made the decision to discharge himself on Tuesday 18 March.

"When he came home, his mobility had gone altogether," Mrs Williams said.

"He could only stand for a couple of seconds while I got him dressed.

"The nursing team were coming out every day to dress his ulcers but he was constantly complaining about his right leg."

By Friday 21 March, Mr Williams was barely lifting his leg but the morning nurses came and left.

At just after 18:00 GMT that evening, he deteriorated and Mrs Williams called the night team.

"They said his leg was very warm, plus he had water retention in his thighs," she said.

"But we were told to elevate his leg and it would go away."

Later that evening, Mr Williams began to "talk gibberish", pass out and wake up shouting "help me".

He was taken back to Scarborough Hospital and Mrs Williams and her three sons were told he could die within minutes or hours.

"It just made me go to pieces," Mrs Williams said.

"They kept saying to us he wasn't going to survive the morning and to prepare ourselves."

Mrs Williams added doctors wanted to stop treatment but she urged them to keep going.

To the family's surprise, Mr Williams was stable by the morning but was diagnosed with sepsis.

"We had two lots of nurses that day and none of them picked up it was sepsis," Mrs Williams said.

"The nurse in charge said 'all my staff are trained to pick up sepsis' but they didn't."

After being married for 32 years, Mrs Williams said the ordeal had "devastated" her.

"I'm getting my sons' names wrong, Sunday was my birthday and I didn't even remember," she said.

"I feel so let down by the hospital, they never should have said he was fit to come home.

"If someone had picked it up sooner, maybe he wouldn't be in the state he's in now."

A spokesperson for York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said they were sorry to hear about the concerns.

"We take any concerns seriously and are disappointed to hear of any occasion where we fall short," they said.

"We are in contact with Mrs Williams to understand and follow up her concerns, which will be investigated by services within our trust, and any opportunities for learning addressed by the relevant teams."

Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust, which provides community nursing in Scarborough, said: "Due to confidentiality, it is the position of the trust that we do not comment on individual patient cases."

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