Family's 'trust gone' after gran died at Blackburn hospital

A coroner raised concerns about the hospital after Margaret Clement, a Burnley woman known by family and friends as Peggy, had a stroke after losing a significant amount of blood and died, aged 92, on June 15, 2022.

The report highlights "inadequate care" from hospital staff, has been sent to the East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust to “prevent future deaths” from occurring.

East Lancashire Hospitals NTS Trust admitted that the quality of care Mrs Clement received “fell short of usual standards” and has asked anyone concerned about their loved one’s treatment, condition or well-being, to get in touch.

Her granddaughter Rebecca Sutton is now urging people to take a bigger role in the care of their loved ones while in hospital to avoid further tragedies.

Peggy Clement with husband Jim Clement (Image: Rebecca Sutton)

She said: “I have thought for years that [hospital trusts] do not communicate enough with families.

“We need to take matters into our own hands and help them treat the people we love.

“We can’t solely rely [doctors and nurses] because mistakes are being made with the biggest consequences."

Rebecca said she wishes she had been shown her grandmother's nursing notes, but ELHT said “accessing medical records without the patient's consent is a breach of their confidentiality”.

Rebecca, 39, said: “If we’d have read her notes we would have known everything. There are so many things we didn’t find out until after her inquest.”

Following a fall in May 2022, Mrs Clement was admitted to Royal Blackburn where she was diagnosed with a fractured neck of the femur (broken hip) which was operated on.

On June 12, 2022, the inquest heard that Mrs Clement had symptoms of internal bleeding while she was being looked after at Pendle Community Hospital in Nelson.

She developed significant rectal bleeding in the morning of June 14 and was admitted to Royal Blackburn Hospital after vomiting blood.

She died on June 15, three days after symptoms of internal bleeding were highlighted.

Evidence was heard that nursing records on the Reedyford ward at Pendle Community Hospital “were inadequate”. The report said medication was incorrectly recorded and a medical review was "requested for the wrong patient”.

Evidence was also heard nursing handovers were “inadequate” and “did not ensure appropriate risks were managed and prioritised”.

(L-R) Peggy Clement with daughters Christine Norris, Maria Gregory, Margaret Whitehead and husband Jim Clement (Image: Rebecca Sutton)

Doctors on the ward were said not to “effectively prioritise work” and nurses were said to have failed to seek urgent help when they learned about Mrs Clement’s significant bleeding.

Rebecca, from Clitheroe, said her grandmother’s death was “horrific” and “violent”.

She said: “She suffered a horrifically violent death. She was projectile vomiting blood.

“Those last three days were traumatic and this could happen to anyone.

“I think Gran would have been safer at home than at hospital. If she had been at home when she started bleeding we would have been taken straight to hospital; she wouldn’t have been left bleeding.

“She would have been furious about being left to die in such a disgusting and undignified way.”

Rebecca said she felt "gaslighted" (to cause a person to doubt their judgment, memory, or sanity) by doctors at the hospital.

She said: “I wish we had more courage to challenge what people are telling us.

"We felt gaslighted. We had trust in the doctors and we were vocal the whole time and knew something was wrong with her.

“We felt dismissed all the time so we stopped speaking up as much. I regret that and I wish I carried on being vocal.”

Rebecca said the experience has traumatised the whole family. She and her mum often have nightmares related to visiting the hospital and vomiting blood.

“Our trust has completely gone,” Rebecca said. “The worst part about this horrible situation is that we still have to rely on this trust and go to them for help, it’s cruel and awful.

“The repercussions of the incident will last a lifetime.

“It is two years later and we are still highly traumatised. We can’t get over this.”

Rebecca hopes the trust can learn from its mistakes.

She said: “They have been issued with an order to prevent future deaths because of the mistakes they made.

“I have spoken to other family members whose loved ones have died in similar circumstances [at hospitals across the UK]. My social media channels have been flooded with people who have similar stories.

“I understand the NHS is understaffed and overworked but this does need to be taken seriously, especially when it comes to the care of older people.

“More deaths are going to occur if you don’t listen to families.

“All we hope for now is change so this doesn’t happen to anyone else.”

Executive medical director at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, Jawad Husain, said: “We extend our condolences again to Mrs Clement’s family for their loss during this difficult time.

"We acknowledge and regret that the quality of care Mrs Clement received fell short of our usual standards.

“In response to the incidents surrounding Mrs Clement's death, the Trust implemented two comprehensive action plans, one of which was tailored specifically for the ward Mrs Clement was on.

"Valuable lessons have been learned from this experience by the ward team and the wider Trust.

“We value the privacy and confidentiality of every patient, and it is our responsibility to safeguard their health information while in our care. Accessing medical records without the patient's consent is a breach of their confidentiality.

"We do understand that relatives are keen to understand and have questions about their loved one's treatment or care.

"We therefore would encourage anyone seeking clarification to speak with a senior nurse or clinician for guidance and support.

“For those who have concerns about their loved one’s treatment, condition or well-being, we offer a dedicated 'call for concern' hotline.

"This enables those concerned about their loved one to voice their worries and seek an urgent, independent review.”