Pensioner given all-clear after HRI op dies days later

Sep 24 2008 by nick lavigueur, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

A PENSIONER died from a blood clot in her leg only days after she was given the all-clear and released from hospital, an inquest heard.

Eighty-year-old widow Joan Farrell, of Netherton, was admitted to Huddersfield Royal Infirmary on July 20, 2007 after her GP became concerned about swelling to her left calf following a hip replacement operation a few days earlier.

She was examined by a junior doctor and treated with the anti-clot drug Clexane and sent home the next day, returning for an ultra-sound scan a few days later on July 24.

Although Mrs Farrell’s leg was severely swollen, the scan revealed no clot and she was taken off the medication and discharged.

But on August 2 she was found collapsed at her home. She was taken to HRI, but was pronounced dead on arrival.

A pathology report revealed Mrs Farrell, a retired nursery nurse, had died from a blood clot on the lung, but originating from a deep vein in her left calf.