Norwich woman died 'alone' on understaffed hospital ward

Jeanine Huggins, from Norwich, was found unresponsive on a ward of the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, where she was being treated, at the age of 68.

An inquest into her death heard she had last been checked on by staff at 11pm on May 9, 2022.

But three hours later, staff found her unresponsive in the side room she was being treated in - and efforts to resuscitate her did not succeed.

At the time of her death, the Mulbarton ward had just two nurses on shift to care for 34 patients, after one had left sick at midnight.

The court heard that a health care assistant found her unresponsive in her bed when he returned to carry out observations at around 2am.

The court was told that earlier in the evening, she had been given a National Early Warning Score of five - a system used to analyse risk of deterioration in hospital patients - but that this was not escalated and a medical review not requested.

A score of five is required to trigger hourly observations from staff - but three hours had passed between her last observation and the discovery.

In a moving statement read to the court, her husband John Huggins said: "My life was shattered knowing that my wife of almost 50 years died on her own.

"This will live with my for the rest of my life."

Mr Huggins added concerns about the treatment his wife received during her seven-day admission at the hospital - with Mrs Huggins at one stage cared for in a corridor.

Mrs Huggins, a retired teacher, was admitted to hospital on May 3, 2022, where it was discovered she had neutropenic sepsis, having previously suffered side effects from chemotherapy for stage 2 non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

The inquest continues.