Neglect of pensioner during junior doctors’ strike contributed to death, coroner finds

Daphne Austin, 71, received no ‘medical input’ on one particular day as the hospital’s junior doctors had walked out in a dispute over pay

Neglect of a pensioner during a junior doctors’ strike contributed to her death, a coroner has found.
Daphne Austin, 71, died from sepsis nearly four weeks after she was first admitted to Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle following a stroke last year, an inquest heard.
The pensioner became “dehydrated”, her glucose levels were poorly controlled and there was a delay in carrying out blood testing owing to strikes during her stay, it was said.
Robert Cohen, the coroner, said, on one particular day, Mrs Austin received no “medical input” as hundreds of junior doctors had walked out in a dispute over pay.
Eventually, Mrs Austin’s condition “deteriorated” and she died after the hospital failed to ensure there were “safe levels of cover” during the industrial action, the coroner found.
Mr Cohen has ruled that “neglect” contributed to her death after learning she was one of 25 patients being looked after by a consultant at the NHS hospital.
Ms Austin attended Cumberland Infirmary on May 22 last year after suffering a stroke.
It was heard that during a stay, the diabetic’s glucose levels were “poorly controlled” and her fluid balance was not monitored in an “effective manner”. The 71-year-old also became dehydrated.
Some three weeks after being admitted, it became “apparent” that Ms Austin had sustained an acute kidney injury.
Despite this, blood testing was not carried out on the pensioner during the two subsequent days.
Mr Cohen said: “It is more likely than not that this was because of industrial action by junior doctors.”
On June 17, nearly four weeks after she was admitted, her condition ‘deteriorated’ and she developed sepsis. Despite treatment, Mrs Austin died as a result of that condition the following day.
Junior doctors across North and West Cumbria walked out from June 14 to 17 last year in a dispute over pay.
The doctors were members of the British Medical Association and took industrial action after they demanded an increase in wages.
“Neglect – being the ineffective monitoring of Ms Austin’s fluid balance and the fact that blood testing was not carried out on 15th or 16th June 2023 –  contributed to Ms Austin’s death,” the coroner said.
During the inquest, the coroner heard evidence from one of North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust’s consultants who said that on the day of the strike she had to “look after nearly 25 patients”.
For this reason, Mrs Austin “did not receive any medical input” on June 14 due to the junior doctor’s strike.
Mr Cohen said another consultant gave evidence that despite being listed as one of the consultants covering the unit – in the contingency planning evidence – he was “probably dealing with other duties on that day”.
“In the circumstances, I am concerned that the planning that seeks to ensure safe levels of cover during periods of industrial action was insufficient to meet need and that this gave rise to a risk of future deaths,” the coroner said.
Mr Cohen sent the prevention of future deaths report to the NHS trust, the Secretary of State for Health and the British Medical Association, who have 56 days to respond.
The coroner ruled urosepsis and acute kidney injury was the medical cause of death and the conclusion of the inquest was a narrative, a factual description of how the person died without suggesting blame.