Mother criticises hospital after woman, 23, died from flesh eating disease

Katie Widdowson, 23, went to Good Hope Hospital in Sutton Coldfield in agonising pain after she hurt her left wrist.

Doctors initially dismissed her concerns, saying she had suffered a sprained wrist and sent her home with painkillers.

But the next day Katie was unable to move her arm which had turned black and blistered and she was rushed back to hospital.

Katie suffered a heart attack in the ambulance and was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at hospital on January 2 this year.

An inquest heard she had contracted necrotising fasciitis, known more commonly as a flesh-eating virus.

Now her mother, Trish Widdowson, 54, from Telford, Shropshire, says more should be done to raise awareness of the condition.

She said: "The coroner did establish that if Katie had been treated correctly, she definitely would have survived.

"It would have involved amputation because of the damage but she would have survived.

"Katie had an X-ray but the senior doctor just said it was a sprained wrist.

"Everything her body was screaming was not consistent with a sprained wrist.

"After that, Katie was supposed to have 30-minute assessments but she didn't have any.

"She should have been put in a cubicle but she was sent to the waiting area because there weren't any beds for her.

"I don't know what caused the injury but it doesn't matter because that was not what killed her. The hospital's complete and utter neglect killed her.

"When she went into Good Hope Hospital on the 1st she had a MEWS (Modified Early Warning Score) of six which is a red flag for sepsis but this was ignored.

"The junior doctor had only been in the country for four months. She had come over from India. If they had treated Katie properly she would still be alive."

"If anything positive can come from Katie's death, it is that another life can be saved."

The disease can be caused by a small cut on someone's skin which can quickly develop.

An inquest into Miss Widdowson's death found medical staff at Good Hope Hospital in Sutton Coldfield, failed to correctly diagnose her.

As a result, her family blame the hospital.

At the inquest, held in Birmingham, assistant coroner Emma Brown said that she should have been kept in hospital and undergone major surgery.

The hearing was told care assistant Katie lived with Dean in Castle Vale, Erdington, Birmingham, with their young son.

On January 1 she sent Dean a photograph of her injured wrist and said she was unable to move it so went to hospital.

But despite seeing two doctors and having an X-ray, she was told she had a sprained wrist, and was discharged. Just 24 hours later she was dead.

The family are now considering taking legal action against Heart of England Foundation Trust which runs Good Hope.

The hospital has apologised for the incident but did not comment further.