Poor communication meant that family did not get chance to say goodbye before mother died

What happened

Mrs M was admitted to hospital after collapsing at home. She had been suffering from diarrhoea and her GP had diagnosed an infection in her intestines. While in hospital, Mrs M's condition remained stable and doctors saw her regularly. Mrs M then had abdominal pain. An X-ray showed she was constipated.

When Mrs L visited her mother the next day, she found she was very unwell. This was over a bank holiday weekend and Mrs L was concerned about staff levels on the ward.

Doctors decided that while staff would provide active care for Mrs M, there would be no intervention if her condition worsened. The family agreed with this decision. Mrs M died later that evening. A post mortem found that she had died from peritonitis following the infection in her intestines.

What we found

The Trust had accepted there was a problem with staffing on the ward, but Mrs M had been regularly reviewed by nurses and doctors.

There was no evidence that her deterioration should have been noticed sooner, and her care and treatment met expected standards. However, doctors did not properly explain the complexities of Mrs M's condition to her daughter. They could have done more to prepare her for Mrs M's death, which would have given her an opportunity to say goodbye to her mother.

Putting it right

Following our report the Trust acknowledged the failings and apologised for them. It put together an action plan to show how it has learnt from the complaint. It paid Mrs L £300.