Hospital admit failings in death of Sheffield mum after doctors ignored sepsis signs after miscarriage

The Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has admitted a breach of duty over the death of Lorette Divers, 30, who died in November 2020.

Following an inquest in 2022, the Trust has now stated there were “aspects of her care which should have been done differently” as part of an ongoing civil case brought in 2024.

The 30-year-old mum-of-two went to the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield in November 2020 after suffering from stomach pain and a high temperature, after previously suffering the miscarriage at 12 weeks.

Lorette was transferred to a gynaecology ward and a midwife considered she could have sepsis and needed to be seen by a doctor. But she was never assessed.

She had a procedure to remove foetal material but had to be resuscitated after she was found unresponsive afterwards and was taken for emergency surgery.

Tragically, the mum-of-two suffered a cardiac arrest and died just after 6pm on November 20, 2020 - just nine hours after being admitted.

It is believed that as a result of miscarrying, she developed an infection which led to sepsis and the Trust have admitted a breach of duty and several failings in her care.

They also failed to suspect she had sepsis, administer intravenous antibiotics and arrange a blood test - which has left Lorette's mum Maxine heartbroken.

In a statement released by solicitors Irwin Mitchell, which is bringing the civil case, Maxine said: "We still have concerns about what happened to Lorette and whether the hospital Trust has actually learned from Lorette’s death.

“These concerns are compounded by the Care Quality Commission saying that services require improvement.

"It’s too late for Lorette but by speaking out we hope we can highlight the human cost of issues with care so others don’t have to go through what we have.

"Before Lorette’s death we’d heard of sepsis but had no idea how devastating it is.

"I wouldn’t wish the pain our family continues to experience on anyone."

Maxine also paid tribute to her daughter, describing her as a "truly wonderful mum" who was so proud of her two children.

She said: “Lorette was a truly wonderful mum and daughter whose death has left a huge void in all our lives.

"We were all overjoyed and excited when she told us she was expecting again.

"It almost still doesn’t seem real that what should have been such a happy time ended so tragically.

"I don’t think we’ll ever get over losing Lorette in the way we did.

"It’s hard to not feel angry that I’ve lost my beautiful daughter, Jahred his soulmate and the kids their amazing mum.

"We’ll always make sure that Lorette’s children will know about their mum, how much she loved them and how proud she was of them.

"But it’s not the same as having her in their lives."

Following legal submissions by Irwin Mitchell, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has now admitted it failed to ensure Lorette had an urgent medical review upon her arrival at hospital, according to the legal firm.

The Trust also failed to suspect Lorette had a serious infection or sepsis, administer intravenous antibiotics, as well as arrange a blood test within 20 minutes of Lorette arriving at hospital.

Rosie Charlton, a medical negligence lawyer at Irwin Mitchell said: “Maxine, Jahred and the rest of the family remain devastated by the incredibly tragic circumstances surrounding Lorette’s death.

"What’s made things even harder for them to come to terms with is the manner in which the events leading up to Lorette’s death unfolded.

"An inquest into Lorette’s death heard worrying evidence about the level of care she received and how she wasn’t classed as an emergency.

"Maxine and Jahred continue to have a number of concerns about what happened to Lorette.

"All they want is to ensure is that the issues in Lorette’s care are identified and acknowledged by the Trust, and that all lessons are learned so other families don’t have to endure what they have.

"We now call on the Trust to work with us to resolve Lorette’s case as quickly as possible.

"While nothing will make up for what’s happened, Lorette’s loved ones deserve some form of closure from her harrowing death.

"Through our work we continue to see too many families affected by sepsis.

"Lorette’s death highlights its dangers, the need for everyone to be aware of the symptoms and how early detection and treatment is key to beating it."

Dr Jennifer Hill, medical director at the Trust said: "We cannot imagine the loss Miss Divers’ family and friends are still feeling since her death in 2020 and we would like to wholeheartedly apologise once again for the aspects of her care which should have been done differently.

"Miss Divers was Covid-19 positive and was sadly suffering a miscarriage when she was admitted as an emergency in November 2020.

"The symptoms of these two conditions are similar to and therefore unfortunately masked the rare and vigorous infection which led to her tragic death in November 2020.

"Regardless of this very unusual situation we fully accept that there were opportunities where we should have done things differently.

"We never want this to happen again and after carrying out a full review of Miss Divers’ care we have made changes to limit the chances of this situation occurring again."

In December 2022, following its most recent inspection, the health watchdog the Care Quality Commission classed Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust as requiring improvement.

Signs of sepsis include slurred speech, confusion, extreme shivering and muscle pain, passing no urine in a day, severe breathlessness and mottled or discoloured skin.