Carl Wright death: Widow calls for better diagnosis of sepsis

The partner of a man who died after his abdominal abscess went undiagnosed for days has said she hopes his death "will not be in vain".

Carl Wright had surgery in June 2021 but became ill at a hospital rehabilitation unit on 21 October.

The abscess was found on 25 October and he died four days later - with a coroner highlighting a lack of experienced medical care.

Sharon Wright wants improvements in diagnosing and treating sepsis.

Mr Wright, from Nottingham, had the cardiac surgery in June.

He suffered "significant setbacks" during and after surgery, and remained in intensive care for about eight weeks.

Mr Wright was then admitted to the Linden Lodge rehabilitation unit at Nottingham City Hospital.

While there, on 14 October, blood test results suggested Mr Wright had an infection but no further action was taken.

On 20 October, he began vomiting and complaining of pain and his condition deteriorated.

He was transferred to the emergency department at the Queen's Medical Centre on 25 October where a scan revealed the abdominal abscess and related sepsis.

Mr Wright did not respond to treatment and died on 29 October, aged 60.

In October 2022 coroner Gordon Clow recorded the cause of death as the abscess and heart disease.

But in issuing a Prevention of Future Deaths Report, he commented the rehabilitation unit was "not well suited to Mr Wright's particular needs".

He said "medical care available to Mr Wright on 20, 21 and 22 October 2021 was limited to input from an inexperienced junior doctor", and there was "sufficient information available for a suitably experienced doctor to ascertain that Mr Wright was suffering from an infection on or before 22 October 2021".

"This would, in turn, have improved Mr Wright's chances of survival," he added.

Mrs Wright said: "Trying to come to terms with it has been made all the more difficult by the many concerns we've had over his death.

"The inquest and having to hear what he went through was incredibly tough but I recognise that it was something we needed to do to honour his memory.

"I would give anything to have Carl back by my side, but I know that's not possible.

"All we can hope for now is that his death wasn't in vain and improvements are made in diagnosing and treating sepsis to help prevent others suffering like we have."

John Walsh, deputy medical director at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, expressed his condolences to the family.

"We have introduced new procedures to ensure that all medical care provided in Linden Lodge is delivered by appropriately experienced doctors and supported by access to more experienced staff," he said.

"This includes the care of the deteriorating patient and the timely review of blood test results."

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