A former Holbeach parish councillor died after contracting sepsis and pneumonia while in hospital, an inquest into her death has heard.
Sandra Rickerby was 76 when she died at Pilgrim Hospital in Boston on May 10 last year.
The inquest into her death at Lincoln Coroner’s Court heard that she’d been suffering from dizzy spells for some time and had fallen out of a stationary car ten days earlier.
She suffered a fractured hip as a result and underwent an operation.
After appearing to improve for a spell, the inquest was told she deteriorated rapidly within hours before her death.
A post-mortem stated the cause of death was sepsis and pneumonia with a series of long-standing health conditions including hypertension and heart disease contributing factors.
The findings said Sandra would have lost her life without the operation on her hip.
Her daughter Julie and son Richard attended the inquest and raised questions about her care including why the sepsis nor pneumonia were picked up at the time and more tests done on her dizzy spells.
They told the inquest about her history of recent ill health and that she had a medical emergency kit of steroids.
Both queried why the hospital hadn’t administered something similar.
But the inquest was told by Pilgrim Hospital staff they had gone through the usual procedures in terms of tests and their responses to it.
Delivering a narrative verdict coroner Jayne Wilkes said there was no indications the tests or medical care had not been carried out properly.
“All of us wish we had that hindsight,” she said. “It may have been possible that different actions could have made a difference but it’s not something I can certainly see.
“She didn’t have the resistance to fight off the infection. The death was due to pre-existing conditions exacerbated as a result of infections which followed a necessary surgical procedure.”
The inquest heard Sandra, a mum of three and grandmother to seven, was surrounded by family when she died.
“She loved to live life to the full,” said Julie. “After the death of my dad David she struggled on her own.
“In April 2021 she moved into her new bungalow and in her own property had a new enthusiasm for life.
“She joined the Women’s Institute, took up pottery and dance classes and joined fundraising groups.
“We’re still trying to come to terms with losing our mum and nanna so quickly just as she was starting to live her life again.”
