Report criticises hospital over death of patient (From Bury Times)

Report criticises hospital over death of patient

9:29am Thursday 5th January 2012 in News

A DAMNING report has criticised hospital staff at Fairfield for failing to prevent the death of a disabled woman.

Carole Foster died aged 52 at Fairfield Hospital in 2006 after nurses thought her cries of pain caused by gallstones were signs of psychiatric problems.

Five years on from the tragedy, the Government’s Health Ombudsman has published a report identifying the hospital’s failings.

He has ordered hospital bosses to apologise to her family, pay them compensation and to write an action plan to show that it will never happen again.

Mrs Foster’s family have welcomed the report but say they are infuriated that no-one has been held to account for her death.

Her sister-in-law, Wendy Foster, of Church Lane, Prestwich, said: “Carole died needlessly.

“A catalogue of mistakes and errors of judgment were made by staff at all levels and these ended in Carole’s death.

“There is clearly still a great lack of understanding of how to treat and manage patients with learning disabilities which could continue to cost lives.”

Mrs Foster suffered from mild learning difficulties, and had been living in a flat, off Pilkington Way in Radcliffe, in March 2006 when she was diagnosed with an inflamed gall bladder caused by gallstones. She died in October.

The Ombudsman ruled Mrs Foster’s death was avoidable.

A spokesman for Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust and The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS said: “We deeply regret the service failures which occurred in this case and the distress it has caused.”