Man died of sepsis after being sent home from Milton Keynes Hospital A&E

A father-of-two died of sepsis three days after being sent home from A&E with antibiotics, an inquest heard.

Alex Blewitt, 48, died in July 2022 after suffering a cardiac arrest caused by a perforated bowel and sepsis.

An inquest heard he was sent home from Milton Keynes University Hospital with antibiotics for a suspected urinary tract infection.

Senior coroner for Milton Keynes, Dr Sean Cummings, said Mr Blewitt's death was avoidable.

The coroner recorded a narrative conclusion and said he intended to issue a prevention of future deaths report.

Mr Blewitt had worked in IT within the financial industry and was a well-known writer and speaker at global conferences, having been employed as an engineer for Apple and IBM during his career.

Mr Cummings said: "The doctor, who saw and assessed Mr Blewitt in the emergency department, did not read the Urgent Care Centre communication that was provided and did not record important factual information in the clinical note.

"Mr Blewitt was discharged, but returned two days later when suffering with sepsis due to a previously undiagnosed bowel perforation."

Mr Blewitt's widow, Amy Blewitt, said: "Alex was in such pain and kept asking the hospital for help, but they sent him home.

"My plea to the hospital is please, please don't let this type of mistake ever happen to anyone else ever again."

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In April 2021, Mr Cummings issued a Regulation 28 Preventing Future deaths warning to Milton Keynes Hospital following the death of 47-year-old Nicholas Rousseau after sepsis guidance was not followed by doctors.

Lawyer Helen Thompson, who is pursuing a negligence claim against the hospital trust on behalf of Mr Blewitt's family, said: "It is unimaginable how painful it was for Mr Blewitt's widow to hear from the coroner that Alex's death was avoidable."

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