An epileptic woman left needing permanent care after errors by hospital staff has won a five-figure payout.
Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust has admitted doctors and nurses made numerous mistakes when treating Katrina Stringfellow at Calderdale Royal Hospital.
The 35-year-old from Halifax was awarded the money after it was deemed negligent treatment caused her a string of extra long term health problems.
The trust was sued by Ms Stringfellow’s family after doctors refused to let her mum Karen Stringfellow provide her normal medication, that had prevented her from having a seizure for 16 years.
It was alleged the failings in care caused an exacerbation of pre-existing symptoms, possible brain damage, memory loss and an inability to swallow, resulting in her needing to be tube fed.
The trust admitted wrongly ending a course of treatment and failing to increase the dose of another anti-seizure medication.
It also admitted evening doses of required medication were not given on two occasions and monitoring of Ms Stringfellow’s medication when transferring her between wards was inadequate.
Ms Stringfellow’s mother, who has already lost daughter Krisia to epilepsy, said: “What happened to Katrina shouldn’t happen to anyone.
“I asked the nurses who were caring for her what specific epilepsy training they’d had and they told me it was very little, that is very concerning.
“From what I saw, there were no protocols or procedures being followed to care for patients with epilepsy.
“Katrina had lots of fits whilst in hospital and they should have been logging every one, how long it was for, what type of fit it was, her reactions and her recovery. But they didn’t even sit with her through the fits.
“I counted 24 fits one day and logged them myself. Katrina didn’t even have time to go to sleep because the fits were so regular.
“I remember trying to get her into bed one day and she fell onto it. She turned around to me and said ‘What’s the point?’.
“It broke me. She had given up.”
She added: “Katrina was an independent young lady and she used to swim with me. Now, she is more reliant on me and calls me ‘mummy’, which she hasn’t done since she was a child.
“She was in bed for so long, she now has a damaged foot, she stutters when she talks and is 10% more disabled than before.
“She had to go for physio to walk again, she needed salts to help her swallow and she had to learn how to go to the toilet again.”
Tamsin White, from Hudgell Solicitors, said: “Katrina was 31 at time of her treatment in hospital and at that time she was able bodied and living independently with support, and she could communicate well.“Her life has changed considerably as a result of the hospital’s failure to provide her with the treatment she required.”
Chief Nurse Brendan Brown, said: “ We are genuinely sorry that Katrina’s care was not to the standard which she and her family deserved and which we would wish to deliver to our patients. We carried out a full internal investigation at the time and, where shortcomings were identified, shared findings and learning with our teams to improve the care we offer to other patients. With the settlement now agreed I would again take the opportunity to offer an unreserved apology to Katrina and her family.”
