Scots teacher dies after contracting E. coli in Turkey

A teacher who was flown back to the UK after contracting E. coli in Turkey has died.

Caroline Hope was flown back to the UK after contracting E.coli in Turkey. Picture: PA

Caroline Hope arrived back in Glasgow last month following a crowdfunding appeal for a medical evacuation.

Her mother, Catherine Hope, confirmed she died yesterday at the city’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.

Ms Hope, who had been living in Turkey for four years, picked up the infection during surgery to treat advanced colon cancer in June.

The 37-year-old English teacher had decided to return home to Scotland after receiving her cancer diagnosis in January but complications from the surgery left her fighting for her life in Medical Park Hospital in Izmir, Turkey.

Desperate to bring her home, her family and friends raised more than £31,000 through a crowdfunding campaign to pay for a private medical evacuation, as there are strict rules around repatriations for medical reasons.

Mrs Hope, of Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire, thanked everyone who contributed to the appeal and all the staff on the high dependency units at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital who cared for her daughter.

“I would just like to thank all the people who put money in towards bringing Caroline home,” she said.

“She was so grateful to be back in Scotland.”

Mrs Hope’s local MP, Martin Docherty, had written to Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson to raise the case.

On her return to Scotland last month, Ms Hope said she wanted to thank everyone who had helped her get back to Scotland and added that knowing she was not alone and that her family were close was a “huge boost”.

Before she was flown out of Turkey, Ms Hope’s brother Scott said that her condition had deteriorated significantly.