A GRANDMOTHER’S death following a low-risk hip replacement operation was avoidable, an investigation by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has found.

A catalogue of errors at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, including failing to properly monitor and treat Renie Craig after the operation, meant she died as a result, the ombudsman has said.

The 77-year-old’s son, Ian Craig from Blackburn, brought a complaint about the trust to the ombudsman in March 2016 after he felt that the trust’s own investigation failed to recognise several mistakes in his mother’s care.

He said: “My family were devastated after losing my mother following what should have been a routine operation.

“We lost my father only a few months before so we were already grieving and my mother’s death came as such a shock to me and to my wife and son.”

Mrs Craig, of Aspen Lane, Oswaldtwistle, was scheduled to have the routine hip replacement operation in February 2015.

The widow had high blood pressure and several tests, from December 2014, showed that she had an impaired kidney function, yet this was not investigated ahead of the operation.

This along with her age and the fact that she had diabetes meant that she was at an increased risk of developing a serious kidney injury, which the ombudsman said was not taken into account.

The ombudsman also found that after the operation nurses failed to inform a senior nurse or doctor when her blood pressure dropped significantly.

In March 2015, Mrs Craig had two further operations under general anaesthetic to treat a wound that developed while in intensive care.

Mrs Craig died from a sudden loss of blood to the bowel several days after the two operations.

The Ombudsman found that if the orust had provided the right care and treatment then Mrs Craig would have survived.

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Mrs Craig’s son added: “I want other trusts to learn from the mistakes made here to make sure that others don’t have to experience a tragedy like this.”

Professor Damian Riley, medical director for East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “The trust extends its sincerest apologies and we acknowledge that there were opportunities to do things differently while we were responsible for Mrs Craig’s care.”