The family of a Nottingham woman who died from a kidney
infection after it was misdiagnosed has received an apology from
the hospital trust.
Last January, 69-year-old Annette Hewitt, from St Ann's, was
taken to Queen's Medical Centre (QMC) with a suspected perforated
bowel but medics told her family she was too ill for a life-saving
operation, and she was to be treated as a terminally-ill
patient.
Mrs Hewitt died five days after admission and a post-mortem
found her to have had a kidney infection which a continued course
of antibiotics could have treated successfully. Her family claim
she was not given adequate fluids and her medication was not topped
up.
Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs the QMC,
said a written apology has been sent to the family.
Clinical director Neil Welch said: "I would like to sincerely
apologise to Mrs Hewitt's family for the aspects of her care which
weren't up to the expected standard. Decisions regarding Mrs
Hewitt's treatment were made by medical professionals based on the
evidence available at the time."