The “traumatised” daughters of a woman who died just days after knee surgery have said they are “really angry” after their mum’s death was ruled as preventable.
Linda Allan, 59, died at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, Fife, after suffering a cardiac arrest, multi-organ failure and complications of a perforated gastric ulcer in October 2019.
A fatal accident inquiry (FAI) concluded her post-operative care “was not at the standard that would have been expected”.
In a ruling on Thursday, Sheriff Susan Duff said Ms Allan’s death might have been avoided if she had received daily reviews, including that of her medication.
NHS Fife said it has accepted the eight recommendations outlined in Sheriff Duff’s report.
Ms Allan’s daughters, Shona and Sharon Adams, told Sky News they’ve been left “absolutely traumatised”.
Shona, 36, said: “I still feel really angry. Really angry, and [we’ve] just not really had time to grieve [because] it’s been ongoing for about three-and-a-half years.
“I don’t know how we are going to move on from this, but time will tell.”
Sharon, 39, added: “It’s horrific, especially when we’ve now been told that mum’s death could have been avoided.
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“I think it makes it even worse that now we’re left with this huge gap in our life that nobody [can replace].”
Image: Ms Allan died at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy following knee surgery. Pic: Allan family
Ms Allan, from Kirkcaldy, was admitted to the orthopaedic unit on 15 October 2019 after injuring her right knee while stepping over a low garden wall that gave way.
X-rays revealed a complex fracture and surgery was carried out two days later.
Ms Allan initially reported no pain but on her return to the ward said she was feeling “rotten”.
A few days later, Ms Allan became “very unwell” with stomach pain.
She suffered a cardiac arrest on 21 October but was resuscitated and transferred to the intensive care unit.
Ms Allan then underwent an operation which found a large perforated chronic ulcer. Surgeons also discovered restricted blood flow to the small bowel and possibly the liver.
Doctors decided that any further attempts at intervention would likely be unsuccessful. Ms Allan died on 23 October.
‘I just couldn’t get my head round it’
Shona said: “I was just in complete disbelief, saying ‘how has this possibly happened? She’s came in with a broken knee now to the point like she’s dying.’
“I just couldn’t get my head round it to be honest.”
Shona said she felt “regret” after believing her mum was in the “safest place”, adding: “I still just can’t believe that you can go into the hospital and just never come out again.”
Sheriff Duff said there were “opportunities to detect the deterioration in her condition” and take action to “prevent further decline”.
This included launching an “urgent medical review” when Ms Allan’s pain score went from zero to 10 in just seven hours.
‘She was there alone with no family’
Sharon, who said Ms Allan was given anti-inflammatory medication for the fracture, said it was difficult to hear during the FAI proceedings how unwell and upset her mum was.
“She was there alone with no family,” she said.
In the conclusion of her 32-page determination, Sheriff Duff wrote: “The inquiry has established that the care which Ms Allan received post-operatively was not at the standard that would have been expected.
“There were opportunities for her condition to be reviewed which could have altered the tragic outcome in this case.”
The siblings welcomed the findings but described the hospital’s treatment as “horrific”.
Sharon added: “Personally, now, I don’t want to go there for care.
“I pray that nothing ever happens in our family because I don’t think I would want to go to the hospital.”
The sisters described their mum as their “rock” who was the “life and soul of the party”.
Sharon said: “She wasn’t just our mum, she was like our best friend.”
She said the “devastated” family were still in “shock”, adding: “I still don’t quite believe everything that’s happened. I still go to get my phone to phone my mum.”
Image: Sheriff Susan Duff determined Ms Allan’s death could have been prevented. Pic: Allan family
The sheriff made eight recommendations, including a daily review for every post-operative patient and an immediate referral should a patient change from a low to high pain score between observations.
Dr Christopher McKenna, medical director at NHS Fife, said: “On behalf of NHS Fife I would like to say sorry and extend our condolences to Ms Allan’s family.
“We accept the eight recommendations outlined in Sheriff Duff’s report.
“The recommendations align with the learning and actions that the board has already taken as a result of our internal investigation.
“We will work towards ensuring the recommendations set out in the sheriff’s report are implemented with the aim of preventing harm occurring in similar situation again.”
Rachel Reeves has not offered her resignation and is “going nowhere”, Downing Street has said, following her tearful appearance in the House of Commons.
A Number 10 spokesperson said the chancellor had the “full backing” of Sir Keir Starmer, despite Ms Reeves looking visibly upset during Prime Minister’s Questions.
A spokesperson for the chancellor later clarified that Ms Reeves had been affected by a “personal matter” and would be working out of Downing Street this afternoon.
UK government bond prices fell by the most since October 2022, and the pound tumbled after Ms Reeves’s Commons appearance, while the yield on the 10-year government bond, or gilt, rose as much as 22 basis points at one point to around 4.68%.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch branded the chancellor the “human shield” for the prime minister’s “incompetence” just hours after he was forced to perform a humiliating U-turn over his controversial welfare bill.
Emotional Reeves a painful watch – and reminder of tough decisions ahead
It is hard to think of a PMQs like it – it was a painful watch.
The prime minister battled on, his tone assured, even if his actual words were not always convincing.
But it was the chancellor next to him that attracted the most attention.
Rachel Reeves looked visibly upset.
It is hard to know for sure right now what was going on behind the scenes, the reasons – predictable or otherwise – why she appeared to be emotional, but it was noticeable and it was difficult to watch.
Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions, Ms Badenoch said: “This man has forgotten that his welfare bill was there to plug a black hole created by the chancellor. Instead they’re creating new ones.”
Turning to the chancellor, the Tory leader added: “[She] is pointing at me – she looks absolutely miserable.
“Labour MPs are going on the record saying that the chancellor is toast, and the reality is that she is a human shield for his incompetence. In January, he said that she would be in post until the next election. Will she really?”
Not fully answering the question, the prime minister replied: “[Ms Badenoch] certainly won’t.
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2:58
Welfare vote ‘a blow to the prime minister’
“I have to say, I’m always cheered up when she asks me questions or responds to a statement because she always makes a complete mess of it and shows just how unserious and irrelevant they are.”
Mrs Badenoch interjected: “How awful for the chancellor that he couldn’t confirm that she would stay in place.”
A total of 49 Labour MPs voted against the bill – the largest rebellion in a prime minister’s first year in office since 47 MPs voted against Tony Blair’s Lone Parent benefit in 1997, according to Professor Phil Cowley from Queen Mary University.
After multiple concessions made due to threats of a Labour rebellion, many MPs questioned what they were voting for as the bill had been severely stripped down.
They ended up voting for only one part of the plan: a cut to Universal Credit (UC) sickness benefits for new claimants from £97 a week to £50 from 2026/7.
Ms Badenoch said the climbdown was proof that Sir Keir was “too weak to get anything done”.
Ms Reeves has also borne a lot of the criticism over the handling of the vote, with some MPs believing that her strict approach to fiscal rules has meant she has approached the ballooning welfare bill from the standpoint of trying to make savings, rather than getting people into work.
Experts have now warned that the welfare U-turn, on top of reversing the cut to winter fuel, means that tax rises in the autumn are more likely – with Ms Reeves now needing to find £5bn to make up for the policy U-turns.
Asked by Ms Badenoch whether he could rule out further tax rises – something Labour promised it would not do on working people in its manifesto – Sir Keir said: “She knows that no prime minister or chancellor ever stands at the despatch box and writes budgets in the future.
“But she talks about growth, for 14 years we had stagnation, and that is what caused the problem.”
Prosecutors are considering whether to bring further criminal charges against Lucy Letby over the deaths of babies at two hospitals where she worked
The Crown Prosecution Service said it had received “a full file of evidence from Cheshire Constabulary asking us to consider further allegations in relation to deaths and non-fatal collapses of babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital and Liverpool Women’s Hospital”.
“We will now carefully consider the evidence to determine whether any further criminal charges should be brought,” it added.
“As always, we will make that decision independently, based on the evidence and in line with our legal test.”
Letby, 35, was found guilty of murdering seven children and attempting to murder seven more between June 2015 and June 2016 while working in the neonatal unit of the Countess of Chester Hospital and is currently serving 15 whole-life orders.
Image: Letby worked at the Countess of Chester Hospital and Liverpool Women’s Hospital
She is understood to have carried out two work placements at Liverpool Women’s Hospital, where she trained as a student, between October and December 2012, and January and February 2015.
Police said in December that Letby was interviewed in prison as part of an investigation into more baby deaths and non-fatal collapses.
A Cheshire Constabulary spokesperson said: “We can confirm that Cheshire Constabulary has submitted a full file of evidence to the CPS for charging advice regarding the ongoing investigation into deaths and non-fatal collapses of babies at the neo-natal units of both the Countess of Chester Hospital and the Liverpool Women’s Hospital as part of Operation Hummingbird.”
Detectives previously said the investigation was looking into the full period of time that Letby worked as a nurse, covering the period from 2012 to 2016 and including a review of 4,000 admissions of babies.
Letby’s lawyer Mark McDonald said: “The evidence of the innocence of Lucy Letby is overwhelming,” adding: “We will cross every bridge when we get to it but if Lucy is charged I know we have a whole army of internationally renowned medical experts who will totally undermine the prosecution’s unfounded allegations.”
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2:09
Three managers at the hospital where Lucy Letby worked have been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.
Earlier this year, Letby’s lawyers called for the suspension of the inquiry, claiming there was “overwhelming and compelling evidence” that her convictions were unsafe.
Their evidence has been passed to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which investigates potential miscarriages of justice, and Letby’s legal team hopes her case will be referred back to the Court of Appeal.
The Crown Prosecution Service has said it is considering whether to bring further criminal charges over the deaths of babies at hospitals where Lucy Letby worked.
The CPS said it had received “a full file of evidence from Cheshire Constabulary asking us to consider further allegations in relation to deaths and non-fatal collapses of babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital and Liverpool Women’s Hospital”.
“We will now carefully consider the evidence to determine whether any further criminal charges should be brought,” it added.
“As always, we will make that decision independently, based on the evidence and in line with our legal test.”
Letby, 35, was found guilty of murdering seven children and attempting to murder seven more between June 2015 and June 2016 while working in the neonatal unit of the Countess of Chester Hospital and is currently serving 15 whole-life orders.
She is understood to have carried out two work placements at Liverpool Women’s Hospital, where she trained as a student, between October and December 2012, and January and February 2015.
Earlier this year, Letby’s lawyers called for the suspension of the inquiry, claiming there was “overwhelming and compelling evidence” that her convictions were unsafe.
Their evidence has been passed to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which investigates potential miscarriages of justice, and Letby’s legal team hopes her case will be referred back to the Court of Appeal.