A mum-of-three who died due to hospital failings will never meet her grandchildren.
Deborah Spark attended The Countess of Chester Hospital in the early hours of August 28, 2018, after she began vomiting and retching following cranial surgery.
The 46-year-old from Blacon died on August 31, 2018 when she was pronounced brain dead at the Walton Centre in Liverpool.
An inquest into her death last week, found that The Countess of Chester Hospital's failure to send the mum-of-three for a CT scan when she self presented at A&E lead to her death.
Dr Neil Buxton, who performed the initial cranial surgery on Debbie, said: "Had she been referred to the Walton Centre and/or had a CT scan showing enlarged ventricles, appropriate treatment could have been given before surgery. It's more likely than not that she would have survived."
Countess of Chester Hospital have since said they are ensuring lessons are learnt.
Her daughter Emma Coleclough spoke to the Chester Standard and said her mum will never meet her two sisters' babies because she was told to drink water while at the A&E department, despite vomiting and retching.
She said: "My mum’s death is not a lesson, it’s somebody’s life that has been taken away. It makes me so angry. We just don’t want this to happen to anybody else.
"If they had sent her for that CT scan like they should have done then she would still be here. She was 46 when she died. She is missing out on my daughter’s life and my sister’s three boys.
"My older sister was pregnant at the time and mum was going to be with her for the birth. Now she will never meet her grandson Travis. And now my younger sister is pregnant too. If they had done their job she would still be able to see her five grandkids.
"Mum will never be there for the christenings, birthdays and weddings in our family and it was all down to their mistake.
"It was like we blinked and she was gone. It happened so fast."
Statement from the hospital
Following the inquest, we got in touch with the Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust for a statement on the incident.
A spokesperson for the hospital said: "We wish to offer our deepest sympathies to the family of Ms Deborah Spark.
"The Trust thoroughly investigated the care provided and has identified opportunities for improvements in the care given to patients.
"Since Ms Spark’s death, the team have discussed the process for discussion with specialist units where patients have recently undergone treatment and the threshold for this has been lowered.
"The Trust is committed to ensuring that lessons are learnt to improve care and to try to avoid such failings occurring in the future."
During the inquest it was heard how an action plan has been put in place by the trust to prevent similar incidents happening in the future.
The plan includes briefing both incoming and current doctors on a 'low threshold' for contacting specialist centres when a patient who has recently had specialist surgery is admitted to A&E.
An onus has also been put on the importance of documenting conversations, the trust says.
Tributes to an 'incredible' mum
Paying tribute to the 'incredible' mum, daughter Emma said: "She was very loved - nobody could say a bad word about her.
"She was happy, outgoing, selfless always. Everyone knew mum, she was always going out."
Coroner's conclusion
In a narrative conclusion last week, coroner Jean Harkin accepted the medical cause of death of diffuse brain swelling.
She said: "Mrs Spark died from recognised complications following neurological surgery.
"She presented to the Countess on August 28 2018 due to symptoms including nausea and vomiting.
"She had undergone surgery at the Walton Centre on August 15 and was discharged following an uneventful recovery.
"She was discharged from the Countess while continuing to have symptoms of nausea and vomiting.
"The failure led to death at 12.25am on August 31. Referral and treatment would have significantly altered the outcome."
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