- Amy Carter, 15, fell ill in 2009 with a sore throat and flu-like symptoms
- She was told by her GP to take paracetamol and get plenty of rest
- Worried parents took her to Worcestershire Royal Hospital on December 19
- She was diagnosed with glandular fever but her condition worsened
- On Christmas Eve she suffered four heart attacks and organ failure
- Parents Richard and Jacqueline Carter have received a ‘substantial’ settlement from Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
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This photo taken by Amy Carter’s family shows the teen on the day she was released from hospital in December 2009 – three days before she died
The parents of a teenager who died from multiple organ failure have received a payout from the NHS after she was sent home from hospital – even though she was too weak to walk, eat or drink.Â
Amy Carter fell ill in December 2009 with a sore throat and flu-like symptoms but was told by her GP to take paracetemol and ‘get plenty of rest’.
However, the 15-year-old’s condition worsened over the next few days and she developed a rash, puffy eyes and a fever.
Her worried parents took her to Worcestershire Royal Hospital on December 19 after she started vomiting and she was diagnosed with glandular fever.
However, Amy’s family was stunned when they were told she would be discharged just two days later on December 21 even though her condition had showed no improvement.
Shockingly, the schoolgirl – who had not been able to eat or drink for 19 days and weighed just six stone – begged doctors not to send her home even telling them ‘I am dying’.
Despite this, Amy was still sent back to her family home in Stourport-on-Severn, Worcs., with the rash spreading across her entire body.
After her condition continued to worsen, dad Richard Carter, 48, took her back to hospital the next day but an AE doctor sent her home for a second time after testing her oxygen levels.Â
Amy was rushed back two days later on Christmas Eve where she then suffered four heart attacks
and multiple organ failure.
She died at 3pm in front of her heartbroken parents and sister Samantha, 21, who watched helplessly as repeated resuscitation attempts failed.Â
Amy Carter was told to get plenty of rest and take paracetamol when she became ill in December 2009
An inquest in July 2010 heard the teenager had developed a lethal combination of conditions
An inquest in July 2010 heard the teenager had developed a lethal combination of conditions never before seen in a patient.
Yesterday, Richard and wife Jacqueline Carter, 52, received a ‘substantial’ out of court settlement from Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.
The parents, who run pet shops across Worcestershire, slammed bungling NHS doctors for letting their daughter down.
They said they were still angry bosses had refused to make an admissions of formal liability despite
accepting that if Amy had not been discharged, she would probably have survived.
Pictured: Amy Carter, 15, on the day she was released from Worcestershire Royal Hospital on the December 21
Mr Carter said they were disappointed they had not received an apology from the Trust.
He added: ‘Our family has been utterly devastated at losing Amy, we have really struggled to come to
terms with what has happened.
‘We feel that the treatment Amy received at hospital fell well below acceptable standards.
‘You beat yourself up. As parents you feel I should have been responsible for her but you trust the
doctors.Â
‘On reflection now this is what we now beat ourselves up about, we think we should have insisted.
‘But at the time you don’t think you can, we presumed she was on the right side of it and would get
better and trusted the doctors.
Richard Carter, 48 is pictured with his wife Jacqueline, 52 and their daughter Samantha, 21, at their home
‘Our outlook on life is totally different, that’s what it does to you. They will just carry on and we
are left to pick up the pieces.
‘We put our faith into the clinicians that were looking after her in hospital and now we have to live
with the guilt of thinking we could have done more to save her life.Â
‘We have been fighting for justice for Amy ever since she died and the settlement from the Trust marks the end of a long legal battle.
‘However, we are bitterly disappointed that they didn’t fully accept any responsibility for what
happened to our daughter and were unable to provide us with any detailed explanation of what went
wrong.
Close: Amy Carter pictured with her father Richard before she became ill and died
Photo taken from a Facebook tribute page for Amy Carter (right) who died after suffering several heart attacks
‘Without this information, the reality is that we have no faith that the same tragedy can never be
repeated.Â
‘Our lives have been turned upside down since 2009 and as a family we no longer celebrate Christmas as it marks the anniversary of us losing Amy.Â
‘We hope that through Amy’s case lessons are learnt by medical staff in recognising when patients need further treatment rather than being sent home in the hope no other family has to go through what we have.’
Medical experts at Irwin Mitchell lawyers who represented the family found that Amy should not have
been discharged on December 21, 2009.
Richard Carter, 48 is pictured with his wife Jacqueline, 52, have received a payout after their daughter died
They discovered the bacterial condition she developed as a complication of a serious episode of
glandular fever would have been spotted if she had remained in hospital.
Instead she was allowed home and an overwhelming amount of bacteria entered her bloodstream causing septicaemia which resulted in a rapid deterioration and Amy developing multi-organ failure.
Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust maintains their decision to discharge the teenager was
correct.
But medical experts found hospital staff sent Amy home despite her parents raising concerns that she was unable to walk because she was so weak.
She had also lost over half a stone in weight, was suffering from a high temperature and had developed a widespread rash over her body.
Amy’s family were given ‘substantial’ settlement from Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
Mrs Carter said she was in ‘disbelief’ when Amy was allowed home because her daughter had asked
doctors if she was going to die just a day earlier.
She added: ‘I was shocked because I was thinking how am I going to treat her when we get home.
‘It was just disbelief. Considering the condition she was in, we did not expect her to go home.
‘She couldn’t eat or drink.
 ’She had asked if she was going to die just the day before she was let home, that’s how bad she felt’
Mrs Carter, Amy’s mother
‘We were concerned she hadn’t improved, she had got worse if anything. She was dismissed in the morning but we didn’t go home until the evening.
‘I was going to the nurses telling them that the rash was still vibrant and she was having difficulty breathing.
‘She had asked if she was going to die just the day before she was let home, that’s how bad she felt.’
‘Thomas Riis-Bristow, a medical law and patient’s rights lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, added: ‘Ever since
Amy’s death the family have been desperate for answers about whether more could have been done to save her.
‘They are disappointed that the Trust has made no formal admission of liability, despite accepting that if Amy had not been discharged, she would have survived.
‘Nothing can turn back the clock, but the settlement at the very least, marks the conclusion of the
family’s long legal battle to secure justice for Amy’s memory.
‘We hope that any shortcomings the Trust found in its own internal investigation into the treatment
given to Amy are improved to prevent any future deaths in similar circumstances.’
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The comments below have been moderated in advance.
Harrys_code,
Shropshire, United Kingdom,
22 minutes ago
Such a tragic loss – I can’t imagine what her family must be going through. The NHS is no longer fit for purpose – this should not be happening. They just want to get you out the door, free up hospital beds. They are responsible for the loss of this girl’s life and yet there is no individual accountability. They make mistakes and people pay for them with their lives. Absolutely frightening. You feel forced to go private even when you can’t afford it.
Cosimhappy86,
bedford, United Kingdom,
24 minutes ago
It’s so scary how many stories like this I am seeing on this site. Nearly every day. It feels me with dread to think that one day my own children may get this lack of treatment when urgently needed. This could happen to any one of us.
The nhs needs a complete overhaul to turn it around and stop these poor people dying unnecessarily. It’s 2014 for Christ’s sake
ally,
Dundee,
25 minutes ago
Sad sad story. What’s worse is that no lessons have been learned.
Iain100862,
Colne, United Kingdom,
26 minutes ago
I can’t wait to escape this continual doctor bashing….retirement…bring it on!
null,
26 minutes ago
Should not happen these days NHS incompetence Absolute dreadful story my thoughts are with the family
Micky Mouse,
Unfair Britain, United Kingdom,
27 minutes ago
I am so so sorry for your loss its frightening if you have to go into hospital. Every day there is a story of negligence in the NHS Mr Cameron its got worse under your coalition. RIP young lady.
Bruce Jackson,
London,
28 minutes ago
OUR NHS IS NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE… Waste of £96 Billion…. Sack the incompetent overpaid dross of management and trusts who are frankly bloody useless parasites.
Subvert,
Derbyshire, United Kingdom,
28 minutes ago
How a hospital can send someone who is so obviously unwell is unbelievable. What must the professional we rely on have been thinking?
Bull-123t,
London, United Kingdom,
31 minutes ago
Typical if NHS!! And all deliberate by this regime!!!
mnowell69,
VENICE,
54 minutes ago
You wouldn’t treat a dog as badly as this poor girl was treated. As usual hospitals are putting profit ahead of health and doctors are becoming completely uninterested in their patients.
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