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HARINGEY: Woman died within an hour of hospital move
A Highgate woman died after what should have been an hour-long transfer from The Whittington Hospital took nearly twice that time, an inquest heard has heard.
A lack of beds in the intensive care unit (ICU) at the hospital in Magdala Avenue, Archway, meant that Angela Borzoni, 69, had to be transferred to Bedford Hospital after an operation to remove her spleen in March last year.
But Mrs Borzoni suffered internal bleeding after her operation, and within an hour of arriving in Bedford she died following a cardiac arrest.
Alan Wilson, consultant surgeon at the Whittington Hospital, told the inquest: "Had Mrs Borzoni remained at The Whittington in the ICU, the appearance of any bleeding would have been more apparent. I believe she would not have died."
Mr Wilson said Mrs Borzoni was admitted to hospital on March 29 2007, suffering acute chest pains. Following observation and tests, she was diagnosed with bleeding in the abdomen and taken to surgery where her spleen was removed.
But after the procedure there were no beds available. In fact, there were no free ICU beds at any London hospital, leaving Bedford Hospital the closest able to admit her.
Mrs Borzoni left The Whittington Hospital just after midnight on March 30.
However, the ambulance stopped for 15 minutes amid confusion as to which hospital in Bedfordshire it was going to. And when it started moving again, roadworks on the M1 caused another delay.
Dr Anthony Short, who accompanied Mrs Borzoni on the transfer, told the inquest: "Towards the end of the journey her blood pressure became very hard to control. Upon arrival at the ICU at Bedford Hospital she became even more unstable and went into cardiac arrest."
Mrs Borzoni died at 2.17am.
Coroner David Morris, who recorded a narrative verdict - a factual record of how, and in what circumstances, the death occurred - on April 8, said: "With the benefit of hindsight I do not think that Mrs Borzoni would have been removed from the theatre at The Whittington Hospital, but at the time the doctors acted in what they thought were her best interests."
Deborah Wheeler, director of nursing and clinical development at The Whittington Hospital said afterwards: "We reviewed the care Ms Borzoni received and the decision to transfer her to Bedford and were satisfied that it was an appropriate decision at the time.
"There were no other vacant ICU beds nearer to The Whittington."
8:55am Friday 18th April 2008
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