Marianne Mortemore, 69, died after being given another patient’s penicillin
A grandmother died after NHS staff blundered and ignored repeated warnings that she was allergic to penicillin — and administered another patient’s medication to her in error. Marianne Mortemore, 69, passed away following a “catalogue of errors” by medical staff in what her family describe as the “most appalling, degrading, and undignified” treatment.
The grandmother-of-four was initially admitted to the University Hospital of North Durham with complications from an existing skin condition in February 2024. She was assessed, but staff failed to identify that she had developed critical limb ischaemia, a potentially fatal condition restricting blood flow to her leg.
It was only discovered by chance after Marianne’s family requested a podiatrist to trim her toenails. Her family had also repeatedly alerted staff to Marianne’s allergy to certain medications, including penicillin.
Yet due to a devastating mix-up, Marianne was mistakenly given another patient’s penicillin. Following the administration of the drug, she suffered a heart attack and, despite receiving CPR, died several days later.
Her devastated family instructed medical negligence solicitors Slater and Gordon to investigate her care — uncovering shocking failings. Marianne’s daughter Catherine said: “We live with a mixture of anger and upset at what happened to our mam.”, reports Chronicle Live.
“We couldn’t really believe what was going on at the time, she was deteriorating so quickly that her getting better was our priority, but some of the things that happened in that hospital will live with us forever.
“It was just a catalogue of errors, as if our mam didn’t matter. Mam was highly allergic to penicillin and there were warnings everywhere – she had her own bracelet, the hospital gave her a wristband, it was on the board, in her medical notes.
“They didn’t even apologise when they told us what had happened, they just said there had been a mistake.”
Throughout Marianne’s six-day admission at the Durham hospital, she was denied a pillow and left on a bed in the centre of a crowded ward. The inquiry into her treatment also found that staff repeatedly failed to administer her medication on schedule.
This included one occasion where she was left “screaming in agony” while staff tried to insert a catheter. One nurse even abandoned her bedside to welcome friends who had arrived on the ward to see her and was spotted “high-fiving” her mates.
Marianne eventually received a scan which showed she was suffering from acute limb ischaemia and was moved to Sunderland Royal Hospital for specialist vascular treatment. Tragically, she passed away days later as a consequence of being incorrectly administered penicillin while at the Durham hospital.
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The Trust acknowledged “a number of errors and oversights affected the quality of care provided to Marianne” during her final days. Marianne’s son David said witnessing his mother’s death had left him traumatised. He said: “I can still hear her screams when they were trying to insert the catheter, that will stay with me forever – only for one of the nurses to come out from behind the curtain and start high fiving her mate.
“Is that the way they would want their own mam to be treated? For someone so lovely to be treated in this way, it makes you realise it could happen to anyone and that’s why we want to speak out, so this doesn’t happen to another family.
“This has left us absolutely broken, and our kids have really struggled. While the Trust has apologised and said they will learn from what happened, talk is cheap.
“Me and Catherine have been left on the floor by this, and we want to see things change.”
The family’s solicitor, John Lowther, of Slater and Gordon, said: “The standard of care Marianne received from the University Hospital of North Durham was woeful.
“From being given the wrong medication and delays in acting with regard to a life-threatening condition, through to poor communication and a total lack of compassion, Marianne has been utterly failed here.”
A spokesperson for County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust said: “We offer our sincere condolences to the family of Marianne Mortemore on their loss.
“We recognise the concerns that have been raised and treat matters of this nature with the utmost seriousness.
“We remain committed to identifying and acting on any learning as appropriate.”
