Inquest into death of Sittingbourne woman in hospital

Posted 20/10/2015

An inquest takes place on Wednesday 21 October in Folkestone into the death of Alice Dickenson of Sittingbourne. Mrs Dickenson’s family will be represented at the inquest by Rosaline Wong, a medical negligence specialist at Ashtons Legal.

In May 2014 Mrs Dickenson, aged 78 and a retired legal executive, was admitted to the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford after reporting weight loss and difficulty in swallowing. She underwent an endoscopy and biopsy, but the nurse practitioner who carried out the procedure noted that she bled heavily. Mrs Dickenson was kept in overnight but her condition deteriorated. The next morning she was found collapsed on the floor. After protracted resuscitation she became stable and was transferred to intensive care but shortly afterwards she began to deteriorate again. A scan showed that Mrs Dickenson had suffered a catastrophic injury to the brain from which she was unlikely to recover. With her family’s consent, further treatment was withdrawn and she died the next day.

“Mrs Dickenson’s death naturally came as a great shock to her family since she had gone into hospital for what was assumed to be a routine procedure,” Ms Wong explains. “So they understandably look to the inquest for an explanation of how such a tragedy could have occurred. It would be inappropriate to speculate further until the coroner has had the opportunity to examine all the facts and reach a conclusion.”

The inquest takes place at Folkestone Magistrates Court.