Investigation after woman with special needs died at Basildon Hospital

8:50am Wednesday 25th March 2009

By Paul Offord

AN investigation has been launched after a young woman with special needs died following a routine operation at Basildon Hospital.

The parents of Lisa Sharpe, 21, from Billericay, say she died “crying and screaming” two weeks after an operation to insert a feeding tube into her bowel, in February 2004.

Her death certificate stated she died from a combination of pneumonia and the symptoms of her special needs conditions, Reye’s syndrome and cerebral palsy.

Miss Sharpe’s family have always insisted the pneumonia was caused by the poor standard of care at the hospital and claim she suffered unnecessarily because staff there did not understand her needs.

The case is now being investigated by NHS watchdog the Health Ombudsman, which yesterday criticised the standard of care provided by several other hospitals over the death of six special needs patients Lisa’s mother, Mary, said: “Lisa was still crying and screaming when she died.

“You wouldn’t leave an animal to suffer like that. My dog had a better death than my daughter.”

Lisa had a feeding tube inserted into her bowel, after doctors diagnosed an obstruction in her digestion system, which was making her vomit.

Her family say they repeatedly raised concerns with doctors, but that medical staff insisted nothing was out of the ordinary.

Lisa was eventually taken for an X-ray at the hospital, which showed she was suffering from pneumonia.

Mary claimed the doctor told the family the pneumonia could be treated, but something else was wrong with Lisa and she would only survive until the morning.

Her family also claim that, despite their requests, Lisa was given no diamorphine or other painkiller to relieve her discomfort.

Maggie Rogers, director of nursing at Basildon Hospital, said: “At the recent inquest into Lisa Sharpe’s death, there was no suggestion from the coroner that Lisa’s nursing care had been poor.

“However, we acknowledge there are areas where her care could have been improved.

“We have responded to the issues raised by the family in their complaint, and have a programme of work in place to improve the quality of care for patients with complex needs.”