Disabled woman was unable to feel pain of flesh-eating bug which killed her, inquest hears

A disabled woman died after she was unable to feel the pain caused by a flesh-eating bug she had contracted, an inquest has heard.

Karen Thompson, 59, died at Sunderland Royal Hospital on January 21, 2019, after becoming ill with the soft tissue infection called Necrotising Fasciitis.

The rare but serious bacterial infection that affects the tissue beneath the skin and surrounding muscles and organs.

An inquest into her death at Sunderland Civic Centre, led by Assistant Coroner Karin Welsh heard how Karen had started to become unwell in January 2019.

Karen – who had spina bifida and was in a wheelchair – had been receiving daily visits from the District Nursing Team of the Sunderland and South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trust, who had been helping her with pressure sores since around January 7.

Giving evidence, District Nurses Jane Richardson and Karen Fisher, told how over a series of daily visits where they cared for Karen’s pressure sore, however her overall condition started to deteriorate.

The inquest heard that Karen had flu-like symptoms such as raised temperatures and a cough and after becoming increasingly concerned for Karen through their assessments they contacted her GP for a home visit.

The GP indicted that Karen could have sepsis and that she needed to be in a hospital. An ambulance was called she was admitted to Sunderland Royal Hospital on January 17.

Om admission she had been prescribed antibiotics medics believed to be suitable for her condition and the inquest was told medics had found it difficult to reach the diagnosis of Necrotising Fasciitis.

The Trust accepted that there should have been a regular wound review and that the wrong pathway was followed one Karen was in hospital and surgery should have been considered on admission.

A post mortem found the medical cause of death was multi-organ failure due to Necrotising Fasciitis, with the factor of spina bifida.

The inquest heard how Karen’s spina bifida condition meant that she had no feeling from the waist down which meant that she was likely not to have felt the extreme pain that is one of the key symptoms of Necrotising Fasciitis.

Home Office Pathologist Dr Jennifer Bolton said: “Spina bifida played a significant role in why her presentation was different to someone with normal sensation and why there was difficulty in coming to the diagnosis.”

Karen’s brother Mark Coates, dad George and close friend Linda Mallaby were at the inquest.

Brother Mark described her as an ‘independent’ woman who despite her health troubles lived life to the full.

A much-loved auntie, Karen, from Grindon, was also described by District Nurses as a ‘lovely lady’ who was ‘polite, independent’ and ‘articulate.’

The inquest continues.