A FAMILY say a catalogue of hospital errors which ultimately led to the death of an Oxford catering manager has 'robbed them of a daughter, sister, aunt and wife'.

Michelle Ginsburg-Smith, 50, was left with severe brain damage and on life support after suffering a cardiac arrest just hours after undergoing an operation to remove her thyroid at the Churchill Hospital in July 2017.

An inquest heard yesterday that junior doctors and nurses on the ward had not received adequate training to respond to the emergency, switchboard operators had failed to give accurate information to the specialist resuscitation team, and that vital emergency medical equipment was not immediately available.

The failings ultimately led to delays in Mrs Ginsburg-Smith’s airways being cleared, starving her brain of oxygen for up to 10 minutes.

She died seven months later after a High Court judge ruled her life support could be withdrawn, with the agreement of her family.

Oxford University Hospitals accepted the failings and have since rolled out a number of changes to improve post-operative care for thyroidectomy patients.

Following a two-day inquest at Oxfordshire Coroner’s Court, assistant coroner for Oxfordshire Rosamund Rhodes-Kemp recorded a narrative conclusion, however refused to find neglect had played a part in the death.

Speaking after the inquest, Mrs Ginsburg-Smith’s sister Yvette Small, said: “These past 18 months have been incredibly hard for the family.

“It breaks my heart to know that we will never see her, hold her and talk to her ever again.

“When Michelle ‘woke up’ after her emergency surgery I believe she knew that she couldn't communicate or function the way she used to. Sitting by her bedside holding her, hushing her like a frightened child is all we could do.

“My loving darling Michelle wasn't the same person anymore. She had no quality of life.

“This tragedy, that we feel should have been avoided, robbed us of a daughter, sister, aunt, wife and friend. To say we are heart-broken is an understatement.”

The inquest heard how the senior catering manager, who had most recently worked for Krispy Kreme, had gone into hospital for a thyroidectomy on July 13.

However, following the surgery the specialist recovery ward for ear, nose and throat patients was full and so she was sent to the hospital’s Upper GI ward.

At around 1.50am the emergency call was sent out that Mrs Ginsburg-Smith was suffering a cardiac arrest after a post-operative bleed, cutting off the air supply to her brain.

The inquest heard how doctors did not know how to immediately open the neck wound to clear the airways, instead waiting for equipment to cut the stitches away – equipment which would have been readily available at the bed side in a ‘post thyroidectomy box’ on the specialist ward.

While there was also a five-minute delay in the ‘crash team’ reaching Mrs Ginsburg-Smith because it had not been told which ward she was on.

Husband, Mark Ginsburg, who lived in Temple Cowley with his wife of 10 years, described those seven months before her death as ‘devastating’ but said he was satisfied with the findings of the inquest and with the changes the trust had since made.

Though the social worker added that it was only through his own intervention that a full serious incident investigation (SIRI) had been conducted by the trust, which ultimately brought the details of that fateful night into the light.

He said: “Without the SIRI investigation I’m not convinced we would have achieved the level and depth of investigation and also the changes that have already been implemented by the trust and are being rolled out nationwide.

“At the end of this process I do feel that we have achieved some greater improvements and emotional closure for the family.”

Thyroidectomy patients are now always sent to recover on the specialist unit at the Churchill and that ‘post-thyroidectomy boxes’ are present at each bed side.

While a new training initiative had since been rolled out to staff locally and nationally in order to better respond to post-thyroidectomy bleeds.

A spokesperson from Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “We are very sorry for the sad outcome of Mrs Ginsburg-Smith’s care in our hospitals and offer our sincere condolences to her family and loved ones.

“After her death we carried out a full investigation to establish what had happened and to learn lessons for the future.

“We strive to provide the highest quality standard of care for all our patients. We recognise that we fell short of these standards in the care which Mrs Ginsburg-Smith received.”