Wife died of cardiac arrest after NHS diagnosis blunder
A widower whose wife died from a cardiac arrest after being wrongly diagnosed with a stomach upset on an NHS hotline has been awarded a payout.
Ann Kinsey was found unconscious at her Wolverhampton home by husband Brian when he returned from going out to buy her antacids – as advised by the non-emergency 0845 46 47 telephone line.
He has now been awarded an undisclosed settlement after the NHS Direct Trust admitted 68-year-old Ann had been incorrectly diagnosed, Irwin Mitchell representing Mr Kinsey, has confirmed.
Mr Kinsey called 999 for an ambulance and when paramedics arrived they worked to resuscitate Ann for an hour before taking her to New Cross Hospital, where they spent a further 30 minutes trying to save her.
He said: "Nothing can bring Ann back, I miss her every day. But it was very important NHS Direct acknowledged its mistakes. Ann loved life. She worked at Waitrose well past her retirement age because she just loved to be around people.
"We did dream of one day moving closer to our daughter and grandchildren in Surrey – something I have now had to do alone."
The trust admitted a breach of duty in failing to provide the correct advice and treatment for Ann but has denied that this would have prevented her death.
Ann was feeling unwell when she returned home from her job as a checkout supervisor at Waitrose at 5pm on December 28, 2011. Within minutes she was complaining of chest pains.
Brian called the non-emergency line but no ambulance was dispatched by the call handler. He then received a call back from an out-of-hours GP, who said Ann seemed to be suffering from gastroenteritis or acid reflux. He was advised she take antacids and paracetamol for pain relief. But when Mr Kinsey returned from the shop he found his wife unresponsive.
Sara Burns, medical negligence lawyer at Irwin Mitchell representing Mr Kinsey, said: "The public relies on the service to ensure they get the correct advice or treatment. Ann did not receive either the right diagnosis or the correct response until it was too late. It is a source of great distress to Brian that he'll never know if she could have been saved had she already been at New Cross when she went into cardiac arrest."
Brian added: "If an ambulance had been dispatched that night at least she would stood a chance of living."
The NHS Direct service was dissolved in March 2014 and has been replaced by the NHS 111 number.
