Elderly woman died of ‘neglect’ in Cumbrian hospital where doctors treating her went on strike, inquest finds

A coroner has issued a warning about a hospital’s “inadequate” preparations for junior doctors’ strikes after a 71-year-old man died during a strike.

Coroner Robert Cohen said “neglect” contributed to the death of pensioner Daphne Austin after he found she was one of 25 patients cared for by just one specialist at an NHS hospital because colleagues went on strike.

Mrs Austin was first admitted to Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle in May last year after suffering a stroke, which later revealed she had suffered kidney damage.

During her stay, the pensioner became “dehydrated”, her glucose levels were poorly controlled and there were delays in blood tests due to strikes, an inquest heard.

On one day, Ms. Austin received no “medical input” at all because hundreds of junior doctors had been forced out over a pay dispute, Mr. Cohen said.

Daphne Austin, 71, was first admitted to Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle in May last year after suffering a stroke, which later revealed she had suffered kidney damage.

Eventually, Mrs. Austin’s condition deteriorated and she developed life-threatening sepsis.

Despite treatment, Mrs. Austin died the next day from complications of her condition.

Now a coroner has issued a warning about the “insufficient” capacity to ensure “safe levels of cover” during strikes.

Mrs Austin visited the Cumberland Infirmary on May 22 last year after suffering a stroke.

During a stay, it was reported that the diabetic patient’s glucose levels were “poorly controlled” and her fluid balance was not being “effectively managed,” causing her to become dehydrated.

About three weeks after her admission, it became ‘clear’ that Mrs. Austin had suffered acute kidney injury.

Despite this realization, no blood tests were performed on the pensioner for the next two days.

Mr Cohen said: ‘It is very likely that this was due to strikes by junior doctors.’

On June 17, almost four weeks after her admission, she developed sepsis.

The coroner said: ‘Neglect – the ineffective monitoring of Mrs Austin’s fluid balance and the failure to take blood tests on 15 or 16 June 2023 – contributed to Mrs Austin’s death.’

Junior doctors in North and West Cumbria walked off the job from Wednesday 14 June to Saturday 17 June last year over a pay dispute.

The young professionals were members of the British Medical Association (BMA) union and took part in the strike after demanding a pay rise.

During the inquest into Mrs Austin’s death, the coroner heard evidence from one of the foundation’s advisers, who stated that on the day of the strike she had ‘nearly 25 patients to attend to’.

For that reason, Ms Austin received “no medical input whatsoever” on June 14 due to the junior doctors’ strike.

Mr Cohen said another adviser had stated that despite being named in the contingency planning evidence as one of the advisers responsible for the unit, he was “probably busy with other duties that day”.

“Given the circumstances, I am concerned that planning, which was designed to ensure a safe level of cover during periods of strikes, did not meet the need and that this led to a risk of future fatalities,” he said.

Mr Cohen has sent the report on preventing future deaths to North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Trust, the Secretary of State for Health and the British Medical Association, who have 56 days to respond.

The coroner ruled that urosepsis and acute kidney injury were the medical cause of death and the conclusion of the investigation was a story.