THE DAUGHTER of a woman whose death was contributed to by sepsis said she is still waiting for answers from a hospital trust three years on.

Gina Cunliffe’s mum Mary Cunliffe died at Royal Blackburn Hospital on April 7, 2016, at the age of 85.

An inquest into her death, held on June 23, 2016, ruled that Ms Cunliffe died of bronchopneumonia, ischaemic heart disease and from a fractured osteoporotic femur.

The inquest concluded that Ms Cunliffe died of natural causes contributed to by a fall followed by surgery.

But it was only when Ms Cunliffe was sent a serious incident requiring investigation (SIRI) report by East Lancashire Hospitals Trust 16 months later in August 2017, that she discovered sepsis was a factor in her mum’s death, and that she had been diagnosed with septic shock secondary to pneumonia.

It prompted Ms Cunliffe to complain about her mum’s care and how long it took for her to be told about her mother’s sepsis, but she said she is still waiting for answers to this day.

East Lancashire Hospitals Trust said it was unable to comment on the case because of patient confidentiality.

Ms Cunliffe, 58, who lives in Downham Street, Blackburn, said: “My mum was taken by ambulance to Royal Blackburn Hospital after having had a fall and breaking her hip

“But she went on to develop pneumonia and despite her condition detoriating, I felt as if she wasn’t treated soon enough.

“At that point I knew nothing about my mum’s sepsis and wasn’t told anything.

“So to find out in a report 16 months later that sepsis had been a factor was a real shock and it’s totally unacceptable and there have been real failings here.”

Ms Cunliffe said she come forward after seeing a report in the Lancashire Telegraph about the hospital trust having a higher than expected number of sepsis deaths.

NHS figures show the trust recorded 291 sepsis deaths between April 2013 and March 2019 from the silent killer, which is a violent immune response to an infection. That is 69 more deaths than what is expected.

Ms Cunliffe added: “I’ve wanted answers from the hospital since then, asking them why her sepsis wasn’t diagnosed and why it took so long to find out that it contributed to her death.

“But I’ve still not had closure and it’s disgusting.”

Professor Damian Riley, acting chief executive at the trust said: “We respect our patients’ right to confidentiality, and are therefore unable to comment on individual cases. However, we are happy to liaise directly with Ms Cunliffe regarding her concerns.

“In broader terms we are proactive in our approach to the problem of sepsis. Through the trust wide Sepsis Task Force, comprising of senior doctors and nurses, we closely monitor data and the development and implementation of treatment pathways. Significant improvements have been achieved with regard to rapid administration of antibiotics and fluids for life-saving treatments for patients with suspected sepsis. This is very reassuring for our patients, and confirms the considerable steps we have taken.”

Sepsis is a term for an abnormal body response to infection. Sadly, the majority of patients who have died from sepsis are either frail elderly people with multiple medical conditions, or people coming to the ends of their lives.”