Traumatised grandmother, 77, gave final farewells after blunder

Traumatised grandmother, 77, gave final farewells to her family in hospital believing she would soon die – after blunder saw her put on ward for dying patients and her medication withdrawn

• East Kent Hospitals Trust has now apologised ‘sincerely’ to Jean Kelly

A traumatised grandmother gave her final farewells to her in hopsital believing she would soon die, after a hospital blunder saw her put on a ward for dying patients and her medication withdrawn.

Jean Kelly, 77, said goodbye to her three children, eight grandchildren and even her beloved dog in an ‘end of life room’.

The retired teacher from Whitstable, Kent had been at the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital in Margate for two months. She was taken seriously ill with pneumonia and respiratory complications at the end of June.

‘The doctor told us to get the family in and I said “I haven’t seen my dog in nine weeks”, and he told us we could bring the dog in to see me,’ she said.

‘That’s when we knew what he was saying. It was a horrible day. All my family and friends came to say goodbye. I gave my grandchildren some special jewellery I’d been saving. I was sure I was going to die. I had been very ill.’

Grandmother Jean Kelly (right) was told to give her final farewells to her family due to hospital blunder. Pictured with her husband Bob Kelly

The blunder occurred when Mrs Kelly was moved into a room normally reserved for end-of-life patients to give her and her family more ‘privacy’. This is when a team of on-call medics misunderstood the reason behind the transfer and started Mrs Kelly on a ‘care of dying’ plan.

But after the tearful farewells the following day, two junior doctors Mrs Kelly had got to know realised a serious mistake had been made. Her antibiotics and steroids were restored and, after showing some improvements, she was allowed home three days later.

East Kent Hospitals, which runs the QEQM, has now apologised ‘sincerely’, admitting Mrs Kelly should never have been transferred to the end-of-life ward or had her medication stopped.

While Mrs Kelly was told that radiography she had undergone for lung cancer had returned positive results, her pleurisy, fibrosis and the damage done to her lungs through two bouts of hospital pneumonia and various other infections mean she is aware she may not have long left to live.

In spite of this, and with the support of her palliative care team, she is trying to make the most of the precious time she has left with her family.

‘We don’t know how long I’ve got left, in fact nobody seems to,’ she said.

‘We do accept that it is terminal but they’ve told me I could have days, weeks or longer, and now I’ve been home for over a month. Crazy.

‘I just wanted to know why it happened, how it had happened and I’d like it not to happen to anybody else.

Jean Kelly (right) said she just wants to know ‘why it happened, how it had happened and I’d like it not to happen to anybody else’. Pictured with her husband Bob and beloved dog

‘I have a family to fight my corner and a voice, but for someone on their own they would be dead now. How could that happen? QEQM is a scary place to be if you’re not well.

‘It was horrible and just so scary. They told me I was dying. It was just so surreal.’

Mrs Kelly and her husband Bob had planned to marry on her birthday, July 1 – this turned out to be the day she said her goodbyes to loved ones – but after her husband learned he had prostate cancer on December 31 last year the pair decided to tie the knot at a register office in February.

They planned to keep the July booking to celebrate their union with all their friends and family, but when the date arrived it was Mrs Kelly who was in hospital.

Following their ordeal, the family lodged a formal complaint with the hospital in the hope of preventing other families suffering the same experiences.

They received a response on Thursday, a day after East Kent Hospitals was approached for a comment.

In it the Trust said it wanted to ‘sincerely apologise’ for the care Mrs Kelly received, and the ‘distress and concern’ it had caused her and her family.

It says Mrs Kelly was moved to a room on an end-of-life ward on June 30 to give her more privacy to see her family, as she was seriously unwell but still being actively treated with antibiotics and steroids in the hope she would get better.

The retired teacher from Whitstable, Kent had been at the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital in Margate for two months. East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trusthas said it wants to ‘sincerely apologise’ to Mrs Kelly

The transfer was made despite the fact the agreed policy for admission is that ‘the patient, family and medical team are all in agreement that there is no further reversible or treatable condition and the focus of care is on dignified palliative and end-of-life care’.

While it was stated her treatment should continue, the Trust says an on-call medical doctor and nursing staff on the general ward where Mrs Kelly had been staying ‘misunderstood the plan of care that had been recorded’ and started her on an end-of-life care plan.

‘This should not have happened,’ it said.

‘Once you had moved to [the private room] the night nurses and another on-call doctor also appear to have misunderstood your plan of care, and they stopped your antibiotics on the evening of June 30.

‘This should not have happened and we are very, very sorry for this.’

The Trust says Mrs Kelly’s medication was restored after the error was spotted by the junior doctors and a palliative care nurse, who are credited for potentially saving her life.

It said: ‘We recognise that had it not been for the quick actions of the two junior doctors and palliative care [nurse] in recognising on July 1 that your antibiotics had stopped and should not have been, you may have been much more unwell and the outcome uncertain.’

The Trust says it has discussed the importance of adhering to the policy of admission to the ward for end-of-life patients.

East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust has been contacted for comment.   

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