An inquest has confirmed the sad news surrounding Bethan James. The 21-year-old daughter of former Glamorgan cricket captain Steve James succumbed to a mix of sepsis, pneumonia and Crohn’s disease in February 2020. The complaint was about the treatment she had received at University Hospital of Wales (UHW) in Cardiff, prior to her passing away. It showed a number of missed opportunities for timely treatment.
Bethan James had been admitted to UHW several times in the weeks prior to her tragic death on February 9, 2020. Her family members say her condition worsened on February 8. Paramedic Paul Humphrey sped to her house in Washington, D.C., administered emergency treatment, then drove her half an hour to the hospital. Yet when she walked in the door, our medical staff immediately got to work assessing her. Her care was overseen on two separate occasions in the A&E department by Dr. Mark Willis, a neurology specialist registrar.
Despite the ongoing treatment, Jane James, Bethan’s mother, expressed her belief that medical professionals failed to recognize the severity of her daughter’s condition. She explained how problematic it was for doctors and nursing staff to take Bethan’s symptoms seriously, something she experienced herself and which she found especially distressing. “It’s heartbreaking to know that Bethan’s life could have been saved if staff had given her the right care and treatment for sepsis,” Jane James remarked during the inquest.
The post-mortem examination confirmed that Bethan’s death was due to sepsis, pneumonia, and Crohn’s disease. The inquest heard evidence that, had she received sufficient medical care, Bethan James could have lived. Dr. Chen Wen Ngua, the consultant who treated her, issued an apology for any feelings of dismissiveness during her care. He stressed that he was never trying to do so.
The investigation brought to light the need for sepsis to be understood as a medical emergency that warrants swift action. Had medical staff implemented the algorithms early when symptoms of sepsis were visible, Bethan James’s fate might have been changed. Their swift action could have altered her care trajectory.
The tragic case has raised questions about the protocols followed by healthcare professionals when treating patients with complex health issues. Jane James has called for greater awareness and training regarding sepsis to prevent similar situations from arising in the future.
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