A CONSULTANT launched a scathing attack on his own hospital after an elderly woman brought in for a minor condition died from blood poisoning.

Urologist Hugh Evans, from the Kent and Canterbury Hospital in Canterbury, hit out in a letter made available at an inquest following the death of Patricia Pruce from Dunkirk, near Canterbury, concluding there were serious failings in her treatment.

Mrs Pruce was taken to the hospital in July 2004 with renal colic. Within a week and on her 72nd birthday, the retired bookkeeper and mother-of-three was dead.

In the letter, Mr Evans said: "I am profoundly dissatisfied with many aspects of this patient’s care.

"Renal colic is a benign condition caused by stones that form in the kidney and drop out into the ureter. For a patient to die as a result of this is exceptional.

"No patient should ever die as a result of simple renal colic."

Describing Mrs Pruce’s death as a "disastrous outcome", Mr Evans went on: "There have clearly been failures in this patient’s management."

Mr Evans said that the hospital’s chief failure had been to put Mrs Pruce on a ward where staff were not adequately trained to treat urological conditions.

And he said that at the time that was a recurrent problem within the trust linked to efforts to meet waiting time targets.

Mr Evans’ concerns came to light during an inquest held before coroner Rebecca Cobb.

The hearing was told that just one in every 100 patients died of the renal colic, the condition Mrs Pruce had been admitted for.

She had been admitted to the A&E department on July 4, 2004. But Mr Evans did not see her until the end of the following day. By then she was suffering from septic shock brought on by septicaemia.

Hot flushes and a high temperature had also been missed by staff in the early stages of her stay in hospital, the hearing was told.

The inquest jury recorded a verdict of natural causes to which neglect contributed.