A grandmother from Sevenoaks who died after eating a bacteria-ridden chicken sandwich in hospital has been remembered by her husband as "a friendly, caring lady who enjoyed life".

Alec Elmer insisted NHS staff "performed superbly" in caring for wife Brenda after the snack, contaminated with listeria and made by an external company, caused her to fall ill.

The 81-year-old had been in St Richards Hospital in Chichester, Sussex, for an unrelated operation when she ate the sandwich last year and was deemed well enough to be discharged shortly after.

However, her condition at the couple's home in Riverhead then deteriorated and she was rushed to Tunbridge Wells Hospital, where it was discovered she'd suffered an infection.

Mrs Elmer died on July 17, with a coroner concluding at an inquest on Wednesday that her death was "part of a national outbreak" of listeria.

Her widower told KentOnline this week staff at the hospital couldn't have done any more to prevent the tragedy.

"The care Brenda received was excellent," he said.

"As far as I'm concerned, the fault was due to the listeria infection which came from a sandwich manufactured from outside the hospital.

"I can understand people saying the NHS shouldn't provide food from outside, that's debatable, but they've got to provide food from somewhere and they have great financial pressures.

"It's understandable they want to go outside to someone who's supervised by local authorities and the Food Standards Agency.

"We as a family are terribly upset, but we regard it as one of those unfortunate things in life that just happens.

"My wife ate that sandwich and sadly her immune system wasn't good because she'd had a previous operation, and so she couldn't beat it.

"In one sense, she wasn't special, but she was very special to me and our family..."

"We feel we cannot, and would not wish to, blame the NHS."

The Good Food Chain, which made the pre-packaged sandwich, stopped trading and went into liquidation last summer as part of the investigation into the listeria outbreak.

Mr Elmer paid tribute to his wife of nearly 58 years, who was a mother-of-two and grandmother-of-three, and regularly engaged with the local church and the Women's Institute.

"Brenda was very much a family person, and a friendly, caring lady who enjoyed life," he said.

"She was sociable but not pushy, was heavily involved in the community with the home library service, and loved flower arranging.

"After she died the church was decorated with flowers and it was just magnificent - it was almost like a flower festival.

"She was one of those good samaritans who went around just being a good person, without a fuss.

"In one sense, she wasn't special, but she was very special to me and our family."

Senior coroner Penelope Schofield recorded a narrative conclusion following the inquest in Crawley, West Sussex on Wednesday.

Her statement read: "Brenda Elmer died from complications associated with a listeria infection that she had contracted from a contaminated sandwich provided by an external supplier, while an inpatient at St Richards Hospital in Chichester.

"This was part of a national outbreak."

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