THE FAMILY of a woman who died at Royal Blackburn Hospital say they hope to gain answers to questions about her final days.

This comes after two days of evidence given to an inquest held into the death of Marian Bascetta, 81 from Burnley, on Thursday and Friday, which has yet to conclude.

Mrs Bascetta died after being admitted to the hospital in April 2017 with suspected sepsis, with the inquest into her death delayed due to the pandemic.

Daughter Angie Bascetta said: "We still have a number of questions about the period leading up to our mother's death which have not yet been satisfactorily answered and which we hope to have some answers to as the inquest concludes."

The proceedings, held at County Hall in Preston, heard how Mrs Bascetta had been admitted to A&E at Royal Blackburn on April 17 2017 after having suffered from persistent vomiting, with doctors coming to believe she was suffering from sepsis.

She died at the hospital on April 25, with family members having raised a number of concerns as to whether a DNAR (do not attempt resuscitation) order she was given may have prevented Mrs Bascetta gaining access to treatment, whether she had been given the necessary antibiotics and if a request they had made to transfer her to Wythenshawe Hospital could have changed the outcome had it been granted.

They also expressed concerns as to whether periods of dehydration Mrs Bascetta went through while under a nil by mouth order could have adversely affected her.

Pathologist Dr Mark Sissions told the proceedings that the result of his examinations lead him to believe that Mrs Bascetta was suffering from sepsis, caused by a urinary tract infection, which ultimately lead to multiple organ failure.

He said: "I believe the primary cause of death was sepsis, caused by acute kidney injury, but I do think there were other contributing factors."

These included potential heart disease and long-term kidney disease.

Further witnesses included Royal Blackburn consultants Dr Aemar Badshah, Dr Christopher Meaden and Dr Ian Stanley.

Supporting evidence came from microbiologist Dr Sandra Long, Wythenshawe Hospital consultant Professor Andrew Bentley and Lancashire Teaching Hospitals consultant Dr Patrick MacDowell.

They concluded it was unlikely that anything could have been done differently that would have changed the eventual outcome.

They also said that they had concluded that, due to Mrs Bascetta's health and frailty, she should not have been designated for resuscitation and that she was unlikely to survive intensive care.

However, they said that the DNAR order would not have prevented her from accessing other treatments.

The inquest also addressed concerns with doctors' note taking over this period.

Drawing on his own medical experience, senior coroner Dr James Adeley acknowledged the distress that the family had experienced, but said that some discrepancies were normal and to be expected.

He said: "In 30 years, I have never seen a perfect set of notes.

"One of the primary concerns that medics have is the tension between what they are recording and what they are trying to deliver."

He added: "It is obvious that this has affected you very deeply, and is still with you four years on."

The inquest will conclude at a later date, yet to be set.