WARNING: Some people may find images in this article distressing
A grandmother’s fingers and toes turned black and required amputation after sepsis when bungling medics discharged her with antibiotics. Shirley Bartam, 69, was rushed to hospital by ambulance following severe pain and vomiting.
The retired carer also experienced a racing heart rate and had not urinated for over 12 hours – both warning signs of sepsis. Doctors claimed she had a kidney infection but failed to administer intravenous antibiotics and instead discharged her with oral antibiotics on September 14, 2022.
The mum-of-four’s condition worsened rapidly that evening and she was readmitted to Darent Valley Hospital in Dartford, Kent, the following day. Tests confirmed she was battling sepsis, which had been caused by a kidney infection.
With her organs shutting down, Shirley was placed in an induced coma and spent over four weeks in intensive care and nine weeks in hospital. After sepsis treatment, tissue in Shirley’s hands and feet began to perish.
Shocking photographs show them becoming black. Four of Shirley’s fingers and a thumb fell off. She also lost the tips of all her toes. Shirley, from Gravesend, Kent, now battles to perform daily activities such as cooking and walking.
“Before all this happened, I was independent and active,” she said. “Now, I struggle with the simplest things that many people take for granted.
“Holding a pen is impossible and I need help with things I used to do without thinking – buttoning clothes, washing my hair, preparing meals. I can’t manage stairs without help.
“Walking is painful and exhausting. I wear a brace on my left foot to try and stop it catching, but I still fall over. I can just about walk to the local shop aided with a walking stick, and also some trips out to the cinema, but I am sometimes limited.
“It’s not just the physical toll, it’s the emotional one too. Sometimes I go to the cinema, but I feel very self-conscious about my hands.”
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Shirley engaged clinical negligence firm Irwin Mitchell to probe into her care. Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust, which operates Darent Valley Hospital, confessed to failing to administer intravenous antibiotics and discharging Shirely home with inappropriate oral antibiotics.
However, the Trust denied liability for her injuries. Shirley added: “It’s upsetting to think about what has happened and how much independence I’ve lost. It’s hard to accept.
“I’m still concerned whether everything possible was done to prevent what happened to me and the least I feel I deserve is answers.
“However, I just hope that by sharing my story I can raise awareness of how dangerous sepsis is so others don’t have to go endure what I have.”
Shirley, who resides with her 47 year old daughter Kelly, has been plagued by recurring swelling in her right hip due to infections. She’s had to deal with a leaking wound on her right leg and the loosening of metalwork from a previous hip replacement.
As legal investigations are ongoing, Shirley is utilising Sepsis Awareness Month to highlight the symptoms of the condition. Josh Beszant, who is acting on behalf of Shirley, stated: “The last few years and coming to terms with her life-changing injuries has been incredibly difficult for Shirley.
“She was previously very independent but has now lost this and is more reliant on her family. While the Trust has admitted that intravenous antibiotics should have been given, but were not, Shirley firmly believes more should have been done to help and monitor her during her first hospital visit.
“Nothing can makeup for what she’s been through, but we’re determined to secure Shirley with access to the specialist support and therapies she requires. We call on the Trust to resolve the remaining issues in this case, allowing Shirley to focus on her rehabilitation.”
Symptoms of sepsis include slurred speech, confusion, extreme shivering and muscle pain, passing no urine in a day, severe breathlessness and mottled or discoloured skin.
Sepsis is the leading cause of death from infection globally, taking approximately 40,000 lives in the UK annually. The condition is invariably triggered by an infection.
It’s not contagious and can’t be transmitted from one individual to another.
The immune system – our body’s defence mechanism – overreacts, resulting in it attacking the body. This can lead to organ failure and septic shock, which can be deadly.
The NHS has been contacted for a statement.