‘It has consumed us. We haven’t been able to move on from it. The children have lost their dad as well as their mum’
11:18, 30 Dec 2024Updated 11:37, 30 Dec 2024
Laura Higginson with her husband Antony(Image: Antony Higginson)
The heartbroken widower of a woman who received multiple overdoses at Whiston Hospital said he was “consumed” by the tragic circumstances of her death as he fought for an investigation for eight long years.
Laura Higginson, 30, was given “staggered overdoses” of paracetamol over a period of three days after being admitted to Whiston Hospital with suspected pneumonia in April 2017. The mum-of-two died of multi-organ failure and sepsis on April 19, surrounded by her loving family.
Following a month-long inquest which concluded just before Christmas, coroner Simon Holder rejected the hospital’s conclusion that the mum, who lived in Widnes, had died of natural causes. However, he found that “it has not been proven, on the balance of probabilities, that [the overdoses] contributed to her death”, and instead gave a narrative conclusion.
He also said he would write a letter to the CQC, the independent regulator of health and social care in England, as Laura’s family had no idea the overdoses had occurred until three months after she had died. Laura, who was 5’1″ and weighed 6st, had been given multiple doses of paracetamol which were too high for a woman of her size.
Laura’s husband Dr Antony Higginson, 48, said the ruling was a blow to the family after eight years. He said: “What it showed was, from the nurses to the top doctors at the time, they all knew Laura had been overdosed. They all had the opportunity to tell us, either Laura or myself or her parents. They could have raised the alert and they chose not to.
“If they had been honest from the start, we wouldn’t be here eight years on. What makes it worse for us is I did go to a coroner in 2019 and they didn’t open an inquest then. Had the current coroner ruled in our favour, and there was every possibility he could have done so, serious questions would be raised. It’s a bitter pill to swallow.”
Laura Higginson with her children Steven and Evelyn(Image: Antony Higginson)
Giving evidence at the inquest, Dr Higginson said he and Laura’s mum, Denise, were called to the hospital’s bereavement centre, where they were offered a post-mortem examination to find out the source of Laura’s sepsis. They were later told the post-mortem examination was unable to determine the cause. It was not until three months later, during an appointment with his GP, that Dr Higginson said he learned the findings of the report, which documented Laura’s paracetamol overdoses.
He told the ECHO that he reported the incident to police and coroners’ services, which led to “a merry-go-round of blame” with the family trapped in the middle. He said: “Laura was overdosed for two days solidly. We weren’t told. The idea that the Trust has been open and transparent is complete and utter nonsense. They were not open, they were not transparent, they did not operate their duty of candour.”
He added that the family now hopes to bring a civil case against Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, which oversees Whiston Hospital – but that after eight years, they have struggled to keep the faith.
He said: “It has consumed us. We haven’t been able to move on from it. The children have lost their dad as well as their mum. Mums are the most important people in the world, especially at the age of seven and nine. Denise and Ian have lost their daughter. Laura’s brother Philip has lost a sister.”
He added: “Even now, not one of them has said sorry. Not one nurse who overdosed Laura said ‘I’m sorry’. Not one doctor said sorry. The only apology we have had is from a head doctor who was not even involved at the time. [The system] failed us, it will continue to fail others. There’s no such thing as justice here.”
Laura Higginson with her husband Antony on their wedding day, with son Steven(Image: Antony Higginson)
A spokesperson for Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust said: “The Trust would like to offer its sincere condolences to Laura’s family. The Trust has always accepted that Mrs Higginson received a dose of paracetamol which was not appropriate for her bodyweight and once this was identified the appropriate antidote was administered.
“We instigated a full and thorough investigation informed by independent medical experts who concluded that any effect of the paracetamol dose was transient and did not contribute to Mrs Higginson’s death, a fact that the inquest has accepted.
“Throughout this sad case we have been fully committed to learning all the lessons we can including how we improve our communications with patients and their relatives to fully discharge our duty of candour obligations.”