Death of Scots mum 'preventable' after surgery at Fife hospital, inquiry finds
dailyrecord.co.ukThe death of a 59-year-old mum who died of multiple organ failure following a knee operation could have been avoided if NHS staff had paid more attention to her deteriorating condition, a sheriff has ruled.Linda Allan, 59, died at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy after suffering an adverse reaction to Naproxen, an anti-inflammatory medicine she was given following an operation on a fractured knee.
Hours after the operation on October 17 2019, which she underwent after a garden wall gave way, her "pain score" shot up from zero to 10 out of 10, and she told staff she was feeling "rotten".However, a fatal accident inquiry (FAI) into her death heard that "nothing was done to investigate" her rapid escalation in discomfort.
Instead, doctors told her that her stomach pain was constipation and a reaction to the morphine she was given as a post-op painkiller.Medics continued to give her Naproxen twice a day, despite the fact the drug was listed as a "do not take" medication on her notes.
Tragically the drug reacted with a stomach ulcer, which burst, and Linda suffered a cardiac arrest four days after her operation.Doctors carried out investigations and discovered the burst ulcer was bleeding into her bowel; they also identified signs of restricted blood flow in her small bowel and liver.
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