Lack of competent doctors to perform test led to patient's death, coroner finds

Credit: simonkr

By Daniel Pye

A patient died after being given a drug for a condition she was "unlikely" to have, following significant delays in a crucial diagnostic test at Stepping Hill Hospital, a coroner has ruled.

Audrey Newman, who died on November 24, was admitted on 10 November after a seizure. Doctors suspected encephalitis, a life-threatening inflammation of the brain, and immediately began treating her with acyclovir, an antiviral drug.