Steve Holbrook-Sishton, 67, died at his home in Storrington, West Sussex, after an ambulance crew failed to spot the symptoms of sepsis and take him to hospital
A “devoted” dad died just five hours after paramedics missed crucial sepsis warning signs and failed to rush him to hospital.
Steve Holbrook-Sishton, a former teacher and college tutor, began developing the deadly condition in October 2021 after contracting Covid just days after his booster vaccine.
His condition deteriorated, and wife Jan Holbrook, 70, dialled the NHS 111 helpline after becoming increasingly alarmed about her husband’s sepsis symptoms. An ambulance team turned up more than three hours later and spent an hour examining him before departing, failing to recognise the disease despite clear warning signs.
When Steve’s condition got dramatically worse hours afterwards, Jan dialled 999 once more and was promised an ambulance within 20 minutes – but it turned up more than two hours behind schedule. By the time the second ambulance reached the couple’s Storrington, West Sussex home, the father-of-three had died at 67.
Jan said: “I knew something wasn’t right but when the first ambulance crew left, I don’t think Steve had been fully assessed and we weren’t given any advice. When the second crew finally arrived I just said ‘you’re too late, he’s already dead’.
“That moment will stay with me forever. Steve was a loving husband, an incredible dad, and the kindest soul you could ever meet. He was the unique presence that held our family together.
“Watching him slip away, knowing something was horribly wrong but feeling powerless, was the most terrible experience of my life. The pain of losing Steve remains as raw now approaching four years on as it did the day he died.
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“The hardest thing to try and come to terms with is knowing that he might still be here if he’d received the care he needed and deserved.”
On October 16 2021 Steve received his third Covid vaccine, where he developed a high fever and breathing difficulties. Then 10 days later, on October 26, he tested positive for Covid and began experiencing further symptoms of confusion and poor urine output.
However, when her spouse of 35 years’ condition continued to deteriorate, she decided to ring the NHS helpline at 10.40pm on October 30. She was informed an ambulance would come to her property but shortly after 1am she dialled 999 to enquire when the ambulance would turn up.
Emergency responders reached their residence at 2.10am, but following an assessment they did not suspect sepsis before departing just over an hour later. Jan has described how she then rang 999 at 5.30am after Steve’s breathing had deteriorated.
The mum said the call was classified as category 2, typically having an average response time of 18 minutes. But, when it failed to appear, Jan telephoned 999 again at around 6.25am reporting that Steve was struggling for breath and was unresponsive.
By the time a second ambulance team arrived at 7.40am, Steve had died. Steve leaves behind his three children Maddy, 39, who has cerebral palsy, Alex, 37, and Marcus, aged 30. Following the tragic loss, Jan sought legal advice from Irwin Mitchell to look into Steve’s care. This comes after South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Trust confessed to a breach of duty in relation to Steve’s untimely death.
The Trust acknowledged that if paramedics had promptly taken Steve to hospital, and he had received appropriate care within two hours, he would not have died on that fateful day. In a heartfelt letter to Jan, Simon Welder, the Chief Executive of the Ambulance Trust, expressed his regret for the “mismanagement” of Steve’s care.
He further stated: “Words cannot express how deeply sorry we are. This is not the standard of care the Trust strive to provide and I am truly sorry for the Trust’s failings.”
Irwin Mitchell and the Ambulance Trust are now working towards a settlement for Steve’s grieving family, in connection with his death. Laura Hayes-Payne, the expert medical negligence lawyer at Irwin Mitchell representing Jan, commented: “The admitted failings in Steve’s care are deeply concerning and highlight the devastating consequences of when sepsis isn’t recognised.
“We and Jan firmly believe that Steve’s symptoms should have prompted an urgent admission to hospital, and once there, he would have received the life-saving treatment he needed.
“While we welcome the Ambulance Trust’s admission and apology, it’s vital that lessons are learned from Steve’s case to ensure other families don’t suffer like Jan and her family have.
“Sepsis is a medical emergency and early detection is vital to saving lives.”
Warning signs of sepsis include slurred speech, confusion, extreme shivering and muscle pain, passing no urine in a day, severe breathlessness and mottled or discoloured skin.