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.
“I think it makes it even worse that now we’re left with this huge gap in our life that nobody [can replace].”
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.”
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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.”
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.”
