My daughter died in that hospital.. and I blame NHS Lothian

Published on Thursday 26 November 2009 08:37

A GRIEVING father is considering legal action against NHS Lothian following the death of his daughter, whom he says contracted septicaemia twice and MRSA a total of five times after spending more than a year in hospital.

William McBride, 69, from Bathgate, claims the "shocking" treatment of his 42-year-olddaughter Linda contributed to her death following one year and eight days in Edinburgh's Western General Hospital.

Health chiefs have denied any negligence in the care of the mother-of-two and say her death, while tragic, was down to the severity of her Crohn's disease.

Ms McBride received a first operation to remove the Crohn's from her bowel on 16 January last year, but a second one was required after the condition returned.

During her spell in the Western, Mr McBride says his daughter contracted septicaemia again after beating the first bout, MRSA five times and developed pneumonia and a blood clot on one of her kidneys.

"She should not have died in hospital," said former council worker Mr McBride. "It was totally heartbreaking to see how much she had deteriorated before she passed away. I couldn't look at her sometimes because it was too painful for me.

"I believe her death was down to a series of failures by NHS Lothian."

Single mother Ms McBride, who worked as a petrol station attendant, died on 4 January last year of sepsis (septicaemia), severe Crohn's disease, small bowel infarction and small bowel failure. She is survived by daughters Laura, 23, and Chloe, 14.

While there was no mention of MRSA on her death certificate, Mr McBride believes that it was also a contributing factor to his daughter's deteriorating health in hospital, and her eventual death.

Her father alleges the first time she developed septicaemia was down to nurses and doctors "forgetting" they had put a catheter into her chest to feed her, which then poisoned her blood.

Mr McBride said he had met with NHS consultants several times since his daughter's death but had not had his questions over her death answered.

"I have asked them how she managed to get MRSA all of those times and how she could develop septicaemia again after recovering from it the first time, but I don't get any answers."

Mr McBride said he was consulting a lawyer to call for an inquiry into Linda's death and possible legal action for financial compensation for her daughters.

Dr Charles Swainson, NHS Lothian's medical director,

said: "We have met with Mr McBride on several occasions and with his local MSP since the tragic death of his daughter and expressed our sincere condolences.

"We have investigated each point made about his daughter's care in the Western General Hospital and provided a detailed explanation. She was very ill when she was admitted with an advanced case of severe Crohn's disease. She underwent two operations and as was explained to Mr McBride at the time, the first was to remove the Crohn's from the small bowel, while the second was carried out when the disease returned.

"We would be happy to meet with Mr McBride again to answer any remaining questions or concerns."

MSP Mary Mulligan, who accompanied Mr McBride at the meetings with the NHS, said: "I'd say the NHS staff tried to be helpful and were genuinely heartbroken for Linda's death, but Bill's right in what he is saying.

"He made statements about the unsatisfactory treatment, which they acknowledged, and I would share his concerns. I do think there are lessons to be learned here."