Coroner's concern after Nottinghamshire RAF nurse dies of tuberculosis

A coroner has called for more to be done to protect health workers following the death of an RAF nurse, who contracted tuberculosis (TB) while volunteering for the NHS.

Flt Sgt Carrianne Franks was infected while assisting medics at a hospital during the Covid-19 pandemic.

She fell ill months later but doctors were unaware she had been in contact with a patient who had TB.

An inquest found a delay in diagnosing the disease contributed to her death.

Ms Franks, 30, from Tuxford in Nottinghamshire, was exposed to a "very aggressive" form of TB while working as a nurse at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London between 23 and 24 November 2020.

However, Nottinghamshire's assistant coroner Laurinda Bower said she had not been classed as "close contact" of the infected patient, so she was not told about the risk she had faced.

Her GP and the RAF were also unaware, Ms Bower said.

When Ms Franks became seriously ill in June 2021 she was initially diagnosed with Covid, and then pneumonia, and later died in intensive care at Bassetlaw District Hospital, in Worksop, in August 2021.

In a Prevention of Future Deaths report, Ms Bower said: "It would have been of assistance to the doctors treating Carrianne to have known about her occupational proximity to a patient with active smear positive TB, as they would have conducted tests to seek to rule the condition in or out, and in this case, would have arrived at a diagnosis far sooner and in time to start treatment that would have prevented her death.

"The lack of knowledge of her heightened risk of TB because of occupational exposure to a smear positive case, significantly delayed her diagnosis and treatment, which in turn contributed to her death."

The report added: "Carrianne's case highlights the importance of warning all staff of TB cases on their wards, so that if they do become symptomatic in the coming months, and it may be many months later, they will be equipped with the necessary information to share with their treating clinicians."

Ms Bower has written to NHS England, The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) TB unit and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) requiring them to set out steps to prevent similar deaths in the future.

An NHS England spokesperson said: "NHS England extends its deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Carrianne Franks. We are carefully considering the Prevention of Future Deaths Report sent to us by HM Coroner and will respond in due course."

NICE said it was also preparing a response to the coroner.

A UKSHA spokesperson said: "This is a tragic reminder of how serious TB disease can be and our sympathies are with the family and friends concerned. We will be carefully considering the coroner's recommendations to determine if further UKHSA guidance is necessary."

Ms Franks' parents Chris and Beverley are marking what would have been her 33 birthday, on Thursday, with a 33 kilometre (20.5 mile) walk to raise funds for TB Alert charity and the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund.

Mr Franks said: "People still tend of think of Tuberculosis as a Victorian disease, but it's not.

"There are thousands of cases a year diagnosed in the UK. Doctors need to recognise the signs and symptoms.

"We need better training and new measures to detect and treat cases quicker - a simple course of antibiotics, given in time, would have saved our daughter's life as her strain was not drug-resistant."

Follow BBC East Midlands on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].