Patient died because she wasn't prioritised for an urgent hospital transfer

CORONER'S CONCERNS PROMPT CHANGE TO SYSTEM

- By LOUIS CORBETT

A CORONER has found that a lack of a "prioritisation system" led to the death of an 82-year-old woman after she was left waiting to be transferred to a hospital for treatment, which ultimately led to her death.

Dr Elizabeth Didcock, assistant coroner for Nottinghamshire, has issued a "prevention of future deaths" report to Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, following the death of Marina May Raisbeck.

Ms Raisbeck, who was housebound with several chronic medical conditions, had developed a painful red lump in October 2023, and while she was treated for it by nurses, it had not yet become infected, which did not cause medical staff to be concerned. However, the abscess became larger and Ms Raisbeck's family called 111, resulting in a face-to-face assessment on the day of the call, which disclosed a risk of an infection.

Upon reviewing Ms Raisbeck, staff found that she had become unwell as a result of the infection, which resulted in her being transferred to Bassetlaw Hospital. When she was examined by medical staff, they found she had developed sepsis.