These shocking pictures show a 45-year-old mother curled up in agony on a hospital floor – days before she died from a treatable condition.
Margaret Lamberty had a history of blood clots but her family claim medics failed to carry out the proper tests when she was admitted to hospital with chronic stomach pain.
Instead, the mother-of-four was left in a side ward for three days before she died of multiple organ failure triggered by clots in her bowel.
Her devastated family are now preparing to sue the hospital, claiming their mother was “abandoned” by doctors and nurses before she died last month.
Three days before she died, Margaret was forced to crawl on her hands and knees down the hospital corridor to beg nurses for painkillers when her cries for help were not heard.
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Her family also say she was left to lie in blood-stained bed sheets for 24 hours and forced to wait half-an-hour for a nurse after buzzing for help.
Her grieving daughter Laura, 28, said: “My mum was failed by the doctors and the nurses. She was abandoned in a side room while she died in agonising pain.
“It was horrific for her and the worst thing I have ever had to see. We told the doctors over and over again she suffered from blood clots but they simply ignored us.
“We are determined to get justice for mum and find out the truth about what happened. No one should go through what she did.”
Margaret, who had eight grandchildren, was rushed to A&E at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire when she collapsed suddenly at home in Stoke-on-Trent on April 27.
Initial blood tests, CT scans, X-rays and a laparoscopy all came back clear and Margaret was sent to a ward to await more tests.
But she was transferred to a critical care ward two days later on April 29 when her condition deteriorated.
Doctors then discovered Margaret had a blood clot in her bowel which caused her organs to shut down and she died at 10pm on April 30.
Full-time mum-of-five Laura, from Chell Heath, Stoke-on-Trent, said she took shocking pictures of her mum writhing in agony to show the doctors how much pain she was in.
She added: “Before she was admitted to hospital, mum was fit and healthy.
“But then she was cradling her stomach in a ball on the floor, she was in so much pain. She has been taken from us and we want to know why.
“My mum had arterial disease but it was under control. A known problem is blood clots so I can’t understand why it wasn’t spotted.
“She had scars on her legs from the other operations she had to remove blood clots. How could the doctors have missed them?
“If they had treated her for a blood clot earlier then she would still be here today.
“She was in so much pain. I pressed the buzzer to call for a nurse and we waited 30 minutes.
“I took pictures of her on the floor of the hospital because I wanted to show them to the doctors to show them how much agony she was in.
“When I went home that night mum rang begging me to do something. It broke my heart.
“The hospital told me that she had more tests when she was critical and that doctors found a blood clot on her bowel which had shut all her organs down.
“I couldn’t believe it. Mum had test after test. How could the doctors miss it?
“Mum wasn’t the kind of woman who would moan for no reason. She just got on with things.
“I just wish the doctors would have taken her seriously and then maybe she would still be here.
“Two days before she went into hospital we were celebrating her starting a new life with her partner. She was so happy. But now she has been taken away from us.”
Margaret underwent surgery in 2011 to remove blood clots from her legs and took blood thinners to control her condition.
She leaves behind her four children Laura, Sarah Lamberty, 27, Tony Hills, 19, and 14-year-old Gemma Riseley.
Gemma said: “I’m really angry about what happened. Our mum was let down.
“I didn’t even get the chance to say goodbye because she was unconscious when I visited.
“We just want answers about what happened.”
The family have now written to the hospital complaining about their mother’s treatment.
A spokesman for the University Hospital of North Staffordshire NHS Trust said: “We recently received correspondence from Mrs Lamberty’s family.
“The trust would like to offer its sincere condolences to Mrs Lamberty’s family.”
North Staffordshire Coroners Court confirmed it had received a report into Margaret’s death and an inquest is expected to open later this year.
