WHEN Steve Holbrook-Sishton developed a high temperature and breathlessness, the paramedics who were called to his home decided the 67-year-old didn’t need emergency treatment.
But the following day when his wife Jan called again as he was still seriously unwell, it took them 8 hours to arrive, by which time all she could say to the crew was: “You’re too late, he’s already dead”.
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Paramedics had failed to spot the dad-of-three was showing vital signs of deadly sepsis.
Steve developed a temperature of 40 degrees and started experiencing breathlessness in October 2021 after getting the Covid-19 booster jab and later contracting the virus.
Jan, 70, initially rang NHS 111 after she became concerned about her husband’s symptoms.
After more than three hours, paramedics arrived at the couple’s home in Storrington, West Sussex, but Jan didn’t think he was “fully assessed” and she was given no advice when they left.
Despite Steve’s symptoms indicating he may have needed an urgent assessment for suspected sepsis, the ambulance crew didn’t consider he might have the condition and to take him to hospital.
Two hours later, Jan was concerned her husband’s condition had worsened and she called 999.
She called to check when the ambulance would arrive on a service that said it had an average response time of 18 minutes – but was forced to wait while her husband was “gasping for breath and unresponsive”.
When the second ambulance arrived two hours after her call, Steve was already dead.
Jan said: “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.
“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.
Steve would want people to understand how serious sepsis is, and he’d want to help save others
Steve Holbrook-Sishton
“When the second crew finally arrived, I just said, ‘you’re too late, he’s already dead.’ That moment will stay with me forever.”
It took around nine hours from Jan’s first call to 111 for the second ambulance team to arrive.
She called 111 at 10.40pm on October 16 and the paramedics arrived at 7.40am the following day.
‘He might still be here if he’d received the care he needed and deserved’
Jan is now calling for lessons to be learned from her husband’s death as part of Sepsis Awareness month.
She said: “The pain of losing Steve remains as raw now, approaching four years on, as it did the day he died. 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.
“I know Steve would want his story told. He’d want people to understand how serious sepsis is, and he’d want to help save others.
“I’m speaking out to honour Steve and to make sure others don’t have to endure what we have. I wouldn’t wish this on anyone.”
In a letter to Jan, Simon Welder, South East Coast Ambulance Trust chief executive, apologised for the “mismanagement” of Steve’s care.
He said: “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.”
Steve had three children Maddy, 39, Alex, 37, and Marcus, 30, and looked after Maddy, who has cerebral palsy.
Legal firm Irwin Mitchell and the Ambulance Trust are now working towards a settlement for Steve’s loved ones, in connection with his death.
Laura Hayes-Payne, the expert medical negligence lawyer at Irwin Mitchell representing Jan, said: “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 the 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.”
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What is sepsis?
Sepsis is a condition where the body attacks itself in response to an infection.
Since Covid-19 is a viral infection, it can put a person at risk of developing sepsis.
While the condition is considered life-threatening, symptoms can be hard to spot.
The NHS advises symptoms in adults and older children can include:
- acting confused, slurred speech or not making sense
- blue, grey, pale or blotchy skin, lips or tongue – on brown or black skin, this may be easier to see on the palms of the hands or soles of the feet
- a rash that does not fade when you roll a glass over it, the same as meningitis
- difficulty breathing, breathlessness or breathing very fast
Who gets sepsis and what causes it?
Sepsis can affect anyone. The condition occurs when the body’s immune system has an overeaction to an infection.
As a result, the body attacks itself.
Some people are more likely to get an infection that could lead to sepsis, however.
This includes babies under the age of one, people over 75 years old, people with diabetes or a weak immune system (either due to treatment, a condition or genetically), people who have recently had surgery or given birth.
Any infection can lead to sepsis. But those more likely to are those of:
- Lungs, such as pneumonia.
- Kidney, bladder and other parts of the urinary system
- Digestive system
- Bloodstream
- Catheter sites
- Wounds or burns
In a baby or young child, symptoms include:
- blue, grey, pale or blotchy skin, lips or tongue – on brown or black skin, this may be easier to see on the palms of the hands or soles of the feet
- a rash that does not fade when you roll a glass over it, the same as meningitis
- difficulty breathing (you may notice grunting noises or their stomach sucking under their rib cage), breathlessness or breathing very fast
- a weak, high-pitched cry that’s not like their normal cry
- not responding like they normally do, or not interested in feeding or normal activities
- being sleepier than normal or difficult to wake
If you or anyone you know experiences these symptoms, call 999 or go to A&E.
Sepsis Awareness Month runs throughout September. For more information, click here.
