Worcestershire Acute Hospital Trust settles over patient's 'avoidable' death

A hospital trust has agreed compensation over the "avoidable" death of a patient.

Dorothy Moule, 73, from Hartlebury, died following hernia surgery in October 2014.

Lawyers acting for her family said she might have survived, except for failings in her care.

Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust admitted liability in June and has since agreed to pay out an undisclosed five-figure sum.

Mrs Moule was admitted for a hernia operation at Worcestershire Royal Hospital on 10 October and her family believed it was a straightforward procedure.

Within three days, the family were told she was fighting for her life after contracting septicaemia and there was a low chance of survival.

"Dorothy was in such a bad way, gasping for air and confused. There was also an awful smell in her room," her husband Alfred Moule, 89, said.

She suffered a cardiac arrest shortly before emergency surgery, lawyers said, and died hours later from multi-organ failure on 14 October.

Irwin Mitchell, representing the family, said had appropriate investigations been carried out following the initial operation this would have led to further surgery that could have saved the grandmother-of-nine's life.

A Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman identified a number of shortcomings, lawyers said, including a failure to perform emergency surgery within six hours of her deterioration.

They said the hospital also failed to perform an intensive care review and CT scan on 13 October, as well as administer antibiotics a day earlier.

Mr Moule said: "It remains incredibly hard to think about the final days of Dorothy's life, particularly when the investigations into her care found so many things went wrong."

Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust said it was pleased a settlement had been reached "that reflects the difficult situation that the family have been through" and lessons had been shared within the trust.