Blackburn mother caught deadly infections after hospital treatment
12:00pm Wednesday 12th September 2012 in News
By Catherine Pye, Health reporter
AN ‘adoring’ mother-of-three died after contracting MRSA and E-Coli at Royal Blackburn Hospital , a coroner heard.
Elizabeth Walsh, 61, of Curzon Place, Blackburn, was admitted to the hospital in Sepetmber 20, 2011, suffering from Crohn’s disease and small bowel obstructions from previous surgery.
The hearing was told that she contracted MRSA twice during her treatment and E-Coli was also found to be present in her urine.
Mrs Walsh, a retired mill worker, was admitted to the critical care unit with sepsis on November 12, but her condition continued to worsen, and she died on November 20.
Recording a narrative verdict, Coroner Michael Singleton said: “Both MRSA and E-Coli infections had a part to play.
“Clearly, it seems to me it is very relevant this lady had Crohn’s disease, that’s why she was in hospital and the treatment for that caused her to be immuno-suppressed and at more risk of infections.
“It would be wrong to describe it as a natural cause of death, as a Hickman line and the risk of infection was not natural.
“To say it was simply medical misadventure would fail to appreciate the underlying problems this lady had.”
The cause of death was given as multi-organ failure due to sepsis due to infected Hickman line and urosepsis. The contributory factor was Crohn’s Disease.
Daughter Carol Walsh, a councillor for Mill Hill, said: “She was an adoring mother who did everything for us, and to lose her in this way has been extremely tragic.”
Comments(13)
eastlancslad
says...
3:22pm Wed 12 Sep 12
chris283
says...
3:39pm Wed 12 Sep 12
chris283
says...
3:49pm Wed 12 Sep 12
positive resident
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5:14pm Wed 12 Sep 12
eastlancslad wrote:So pleased to hear you had a nice experience at RBH sadly we didnt these things happen my mother went into hospital to get better not to die and if you read the coroners statement my mother caught mrsa in her hickman line which could have only be caught by the very people i trusted to look after her.You spent 10 days in hospital my mother spent 2 months and believe you see what goes on in that lengh of time my mother was supposed to be going to hope hospital for further treatment but never made it i wish you well and hope you never have to suffer like my family have but never say these things happen i can assure you my mother should still be alive today i cant go into details at this point but her death could and should have been prevented.
chris283: Earlier this year I spent 10 days on C14 ward, (including a major operation), and I cannot fault the staff or the service. These things happen, and the MRSA could have been brought into the hospital by a visitor.
positive resident
says...
5:16pm Wed 12 Sep 12
chris283 wrote:Thank you i agree 100% with your comment.
blackburn hospital again in the news well no surprise there it should be shut down god bless you love
chris283
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7:01pm Wed 12 Sep 12
positive resident
says...
8:11pm Wed 12 Sep 12
BritainfortheBritish
says...
8:18pm Wed 12 Sep 12
Cleaning used to be done by regular cleaners then all of a sudden the same cleaner had to clean 2 or 3 / 4 wards instead of one .
This is because other cleaners had been laid off. MRSA can be dormant and cause no problems or can cause problems . The same is the same for E Coli . Some people have it in their urine with no problems .Others have problems . The right antibiotics for the right length of time may have cured this .
It is a tragic occassion all the way through .
BritainfortheBritish
says...
8:20pm Wed 12 Sep 12
Cleaning used to be done by regular cleaners then all of a sudden the same cleaner had to clean 2 or 3 / 4 wards instead of one .
This is because other cleaners had been laid off. MRSA can be dormant and cause no problems or can cause problems . The same is the same for E Coli . Some people have it in their urine with no problems .Others have problems . The right antibiotics for the right length of time may have cured this .
It is a tragic occassion all the way through .
johnleo
says...
9:53pm Wed 12 Sep 12
BritainfortheBritish wrote:Why are cleaner paid so little for doing a job that saves lives. Treat them with the respect they deserve and you wouldn't have such a high turnover of staff.
The facts are ... Since the tories privatised the NHS cleaners the wards etc have had very poor cleaning services . This poor cleaning has been carried on since this was done ny the tories and allowed to continue by labour. Cleaning used to be done by regular cleaners then all of a sudden the same cleaner had to clean 2 or 3 / 4 wards instead of one . This is because other cleaners had been laid off. MRSA can be dormant and cause no problems or can cause problems . The same is the same for E Coli . Some people have it in their urine with no problems .Others have problems . The right antibiotics for the right length of time may have cured this . It is a tragic occassion all the way through .
BritainfortheBritish
says...
8:32am Thu 13 Sep 12
johnleo wrote:Blame the tories .It was all part of their privatisation .Labour allowed it to carry on and now conlib are doing the same . Minimum staff on minimum wage .
BritainfortheBritish wrote:Why are cleaner paid so little for doing a job that saves lives. Treat them with the respect they deserve and you wouldn't have such a high turnover of staff.
The facts are ... Since the tories privatised the NHS cleaners the wards etc have had very poor cleaning services . This poor cleaning has been carried on since this was done ny the tories and allowed to continue by labour. Cleaning used to be done by regular cleaners then all of a sudden the same cleaner had to clean 2 or 3 / 4 wards instead of one . This is because other cleaners had been laid off. MRSA can be dormant and cause no problems or can cause problems . The same is the same for E Coli . Some people have it in their urine with no problems .Others have problems . The right antibiotics for the right length of time may have cured this . It is a tragic occassion all the way through .
Our local hospitals have very recently changed contractors again !!!
It cannot be any good for patients.
blackburn-chick
says...
5:37pm Fri 14 Sep 12
My sister went over the handle bars on her bike the last week in august she went to the hospital because she was weeing blood. they kept her in for 2 days and sent her home after a scan. The blood was still in her urine and they told us she must have grazed her bladder. They said we will invite you in for an appointment to check up .... the appointment was for 2 months after?
what the hell is that all about? I hve no faith in the NHS and if i was to be in a vulerable state i would be scared for the care i would receive. No one seems to have any answers when you try to speak to someone. you get passed from pillar to post and its ridiculous!!
chris283 says...
3:04pm Wed 12 Sep 12