THE family of a patient who bled to death following a routine operation have received a payout from the hospital trust, after it admitted "failing its basic duties of care".
Susan Wilson, 58, of Larkhill Village in Clifton, suffered a heart attack on Ward E15 at the Queen's Medical Centre after having her gallbladder removed.
An inquest into her death heard nurses had failed to carry out observations on her for 16 hours and only discovered anything was wrong when she was already dead.
Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust has now agreed to pay Mrs Wilson's family an undisclosed sum in an out-of-court settlement.
Mrs Wilson's partner Stuart Clift, 67, said: "The hospital has agreed they were in the wrong and that they didn't provide the care they should have done.
"I feel that to some extent, justice has been done but obviously there is no price you can put on anybody's life, especially Susan's.
"The circumstances of her death left me struggling to stay in the place we were living and I had a feeling of desolation after her death."
Mr Wilson, who still lives in Larkhill Village, added: "We had moved to Larkhill for our retirement and thought we'd be there for 10 to 20 years.
"I never expected Susan would die within three years."
Mrs Wilson had decided to go ahead with the operation to deal with a painful gallbladder in October last year and was aware of the risks because of an existing heart problem.
After the surgery, she spent time on a high dependency unit before being moved to Ward E18, where nursing observations should have been carried out.
Coroner Heidi Connor said at the inquest that there were "too many unknowns" to say whether Mrs Wilson's death would have been avoided if the checks had been made, but urged the hospital trust to deal with its staffing issues.
Peter Homa, chief executive of Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "We reiterate our sincere and unreserved apologies to the family for failing our basic duties of care and letting Mrs Wilson and them down.
"Whilst no amount of money can undo the distress the family have experienced as a result of this tragic case or compensate for their loss, we hope the settlement provides some financial security for the future."
Paul Sankey, clinical negligence lawyer with London law firm Slater and Gordon, who represented Mrs Wilson's family, said: "Evidence heard at the inquest raised grave concerns about the quality of care Susan received and the processes that were in place at the Queen's Medical Centre.
"It is clear that Susan's tragic death was wholly avoidable. It is simply not acceptable that she was left to bleed to death on a hospital ward and it is important those responsible were held to account."
"Despite their loss, Susan's family have been determined to remember her as the popular, happy, much-loved woman that she was.
"They now hope that important lessons are learned from the events that led to her death and that this will prevent other families suffering a similar tragedy in the future."
Mr Clift said his partner, who had one son, Sean, 41, had been "well-liked" by everyone she met.
He added: "She was an active person and was very bubbly and gregarious.
"She would always talk to people before they had to talk to her. She is missed by all her family and friends."
A report released by Nottingham Hospitals NHS Trust on Tuesday confirmed a new nurse handover project to has been rolled out to all wards. This aims to ensure better completion of fluid balance and observation charts.
The next phase of this work will see the development of an electronic handover system.
