Aspiring paramedic who died from sepsis wasn’t given antibiotics

Aspiring paramedic, 23, who died from sepsis just five days after feeling a tickly cough should have been given antibiotics when she first went to clinic, inquest hears

  • Jessica Holbrook died just five days after visiting a doctor’s surgery  
  • She should have been given antibiotics on her first visit to the surgery 
  • The 23-year-old wasn’t given any medication until three days later  
  • Her grandmother said she wished her ‘beautiful’ granddaughter had been taken seriously

Jessica Holbrook (pictured above) had worked for the Yorkshire Ambulance Service 

An aspiring paramedic who tragically died from sepsis after feeling a tickly cough should have been given antibiotics when she first attended an out of hours service, which could have saved her life.

Jessica Holbrook died at her grandmother’s house just five days after visiting a doctor’s surgery where she had complained of flu like symptoms including a tickly cough, sore throat and a cold.

Giving evidence at an inquest on Thursday 10 January, a practitioner from the surgery the 23-year-old had visited, Dr Sudhakar Krishnasamy said Jessica should have been issued with potentially life-saving anti-biotics on her first visit on December 9 2017.

Jessica, from South Yorkshire was only provided with the medication she needed when she attended surgery three days later. However it was too late and she died on December 14  2017.

In a statement read out in court, Jessica’s grandmother Barbara Robinson said she ‘still has questions’ and wishes her ‘beautiful’ granddaughter, had been ‘taken seriously’.


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Jessica Holbrook (left and right) was born without a pituitary gland, making her susceptible to infection

Dr Krishnasamy told the inquest that it’s not common to give antibiotics to someone displaying flu-like symptoms on their first visit.

However, the court heard Jessica was a special case because she was born without a pituitary gland, making her susceptible to infection.

Patricia Cusworth, the nurse practitioner who saw Jessica on both visits also gave evidence and admitted she ‘didn’t give it [Jessica’s missing pituitary gland] the consideration that it required’.

The inquest was heard at Sheffield Cornoners’ Court (pictured above)

When asked about the treatment Jessica was given on December 9, Dr Krishnasamy said: ‘My advice would have been to give antibiotics.

‘That’s what I would have done.’

Dr Krishnasamy explained that, although he is a GP partner at the out-of-hours surgery, called i-Heart Barnsley, he never treated Jessica, who was a football mad Barnsley FC season ticket holder.

She was treated on both occasions by Mrs Cusworth, who initially said she was reluctant to give antibiotics to someone with a ‘minor illness’.

Jessica Holbrook (pictured above) had visited a doctor’s surgery complaining of flu like symptoms

When Jessica returned on December 13 with worsened symptoms, Mrs Cusworth, a nurse of 40 years, diagnosed bacterial tonsillitis and prescribed a ten day course of antibiotics.

Today (Thurs) asked why she didn’t do that on December 9, she told Sheffield Coroners’ Court: ‘I have asked myself that question several times and my honest answer is she was presenting with a minor illness and it had only just started.

‘I felt I could deal with it.’

Mrs Cusworth also admitted it would have been ‘prudent’ to consult with a GP before treating Jessica.

She also said if she was presented with the same situation now as she was on December 13 she would admit the patient to hospital instead of sending them home with antibiotics, as she did with Jessica.

What are the key symptoms of sepsis?

Sepsis, known as the ‘silent killer’, strikes when an infection such as blood poisoning sparks a violent immune response in which the body attacks its own organs.

It is the leading cause of avoidable death, killing at least 44,000 a year.

If caught early, the infection can be controlled by antibiotics.

But the early symptoms of sepsis can be easily confused with more mild conditions.

A patient can rapidly deteriorate if sepsis is missed early on, so quick diagnosis and treatment is vital – yet this rarely happens. 

In the early stages, sepsis can be mistaken for a chest infection, flu or upset stomach. 

The six signs of something potentially deadly can be identified by the acronym ‘SEPSIS’:

  • Slurred speech or confusion.
  • Extreme shivering or muscle pain.
  • Passing no urine in a day.
  • Severe breathlessness.
  • ‘I feel like I might die.’
  • Skin that’s mottled or discoloured.

Giving evidence, she said: ‘I did lack training and information, that’s evident.’

After Jessica’s death Mrs Cusworth was suspended from her position and is currently still away from work on sick leave.

An investigation into the incident by the Nursing and Midwifery Council is ongoing.

The court heard how Jessica worked for Yorkshire Ambulance Service organising routine ambulance appointments.

When working at Barnsley Hospital she would often stay at the house of her grandmother, Barbara Robinson, who was with her granddaughter the day she died.

Jessica was treated at the property, where she died, by paramedics who she knew and was friends with.

The 76-year-old said: ‘She stayed over with me and looked unwell. She was complaining of a really bad sore throat and rang in sick to work, which was not like Jessica.

‘In the morning she was still unwell and I told her mum to ring for an ambulance. We were panicking at this point.

‘The paramedics tried everything they could but sadly Jessica died. She was treated by her friends from work.

‘This was the hardest day of my life.’

Mrs Robinson added: ‘As a family we still have a number of questions.

‘I always look back and wish that the nurse had told me to look out for symptoms or told me to go back.

‘I put my faith and trust in the medical professionals and wish they had taken her seriously.

‘I cannot help but feel they did not do enough to keep her safe and help her through this.’

Mrs Robinson said that her granddaughter wanted to be a paramedic and had begun the process of becoming one by taking a number of tests.

The inquest continues. 

 

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