A young woman bled to death hours after a junior doctor on a Saturday shift accidentally punctured her stomach during a fluid-draining procedure.
Emme Godiff, 28, was having fluid drained from around her internal organs when the junior doctor tried to insert a needle in her stomach – only for it to ‘kink’, which meant no fluid was released from her body.
She sent a WhatsApp message to her grandmother saying ‘I’m not letting another fkn student touch me again’ but her condition deteriorated and a subsequent scan showed the procedure had caused a severe bleed which failed to clot.
She died the following day from internal bleeding into a cavity next to her stomach.
Salford Royal Infirmary in Greater Manchester admitted the mistake following an inquiry into the incident in May but said ‘less staff’ were on duty at a weekend.
The junior doctor has not been named.
Emme Godiff, 28, died when a junior doctor accidentally punctured her stomach during a fluid-draining procedure
Miss Godiff, who died in May, was described by her family as being ‘bubbly and beautiful’
A post mortem report showed Miss Godiff had an enlarged liver and abnormal liver functions caused by excessive drinking. Her cause of death was given as abdominal wall peritoneal haemorrhage
Miss Godiff, from Manchester, was described as ‘bubbly and beautiful’ by her family.
She had been admitted to hospital on May 5 with a chest infection after complaining of stomach pains and swelling.
On May 17 a ‘drain’ needle was successfully inserted into her stomach to relieve fluid around her organs.
But tragedy struck on Saturday May 20 when the junior doctor attempted to insert a second drain whilst being supervised by a senior colleague only for the needle to ‘kink’ – which meant no fluid was released from her stomach.
Although a senior doctor successfully inserted the needle three hours later, the bleed was only detected at 3am on May 21 when a CT scan was performed when she continued to complain of stomach pains. She died later that day.
A junior doctor attempted to drain fluid from her stomach only for the needle to ‘kink’ which meant no fluid was released
Miss Godiff’s grandmother Nora Summers, 73, told the Bolton hearing: ‘I got a message from Emme saying that she was ill and had to go to hospital. We messaged, and she said that her medication was making her sleepy but she didn’t mind because she had a comfy bed.
‘I went to see her while she was in hospital, and she seemed to be doing better or was at least stable. She did message me about a student nurse stabbing her with the drain and doing it wrong, and that she didn’t want them doing it again.
‘The last message I got from her was that the last drain had been successful and that she felt ‘as flat as a pancake’.
‘My main concerns are why was a student doctor allowed to undertake the procedure, did a senior doctor supervise, did Emme give consent, when was Emme meant to have the procedure, has anything been done so this doesn’t happen again and why wasn’t I informed when she was in a bad state so I could have spent some time with her before she died.
‘Emme enjoyed life to the full, loved having fun and going on holiday and loved Blackpool.’
Shortly before her death Miss Godiff said she could see a ‘brighter future ahead’
A post mortem report showed Miss Godiff had an enlarged liver and abnormal liver functions caused by excessive drinking.
Her cause of death was given as abdominal wall peritoneal haemorrhage.
Pathologist Steven McGrath said: ‘She was anaemic and her blood wasn’t clotting as was expected because of her liver. There was a large haemorrhage from the bleed, and I am unable to identify which of the drain sites caused the bleed. It was a very unusual pattern of bleeding and the most likely cause for bleeding in that pattern is most likely the insertion of a needed into the abdominal walls.
‘The drain had to be undertaken because of the fluid, the bleed occurred because of the drain and her blood wasn’t clotting because of the liver disease. There is a chance that she would not have died following the procedure when she did….but she was very poorly.’
Dr Christian Booth, an intensive care consultant who treated Emma on May 21 said: ‘When I got to her she was very pale and her heart rate was very very fast. Her blood had become acidic and we did give her more blood but it was clear that the bleeding was ongoing.
‘The bleed and the fluid around her abdomen was putting pressure on her diaphragm which meant that she was struggling to breathe. As we started to put breathing apparatus in she suffered a cardiac arrest. We were prepared for it and were able to deal with it.
‘However despite this she soon after suffered another cardiac arrest. On the balance of probabilities, without the kinked drain Emme would not have died.’
Dr James Robinson, a consultant at Salford Royal said: ‘The doctor who performed the drain was a qualified doctor being supervised by a more senior doctor. None of the doctors did anything wrong. I have had to counsel colleagues about this matter.
‘The bleeding from the abdominal wall is a rare but recognised complication of the drain procedure.’
Miss Godiff died from abdominal Paracentesis procedure exacerbated by and against a background of alcohol related liver disease, an inquest found
The hearing was told that shortly before her death, doctors had asked for Miss Godiff to be transferred to Manchester Royal Infirmary for radiology to stem the bleeding but medics there refused, saying ‘nothing more could be done’ for her.
They said because of her liver disease, her clotting functions were not performing properly, and any surgery or radiology would have made her situation much worse.
Salford Royal undertook an internal investigation and have reviewed procedures on the insertion of drains.
Consultant Adam Robinson, who headed up the investigation, said: ‘There are more staff during the week 9-5 but over the weekends there are less staff.
‘We are progressing with a policy because of what has happened. There was no way of predicting what was going to happen. Lessons have been learnt and things are being changed on the outcome of this.’
Recording a narrative conclusion, assistant coroner Susan Duncan said: ‘Emme died as a consequence of a rare but recognised complication of an abdominal Paracentesis procedure exacerbated by and against a background of alcohol related liver disease.
‘She was a very poorly young woman. I have heard evidence that the second drain proved to be problematic. I am satisfied that her liver disease would have had an impact on her clotting ability.’
After the inquest her family paid tribute to her, saying: ‘Emme will never be forgotten and will be with us always. The hospital made a mistake, we know it wasn’t intentional but we would have liked an apology and for them to take some responsibility.
‘We don’t want this to happen to any family again, and we’re sure that the hospital don’t want this to happen again.
‘As a family we feel that more could have been done to help her following the drain, we know that she needed it but if it hadn’t been inserted wrong then this wouldn’t have happened.
‘The doctors themselves said that she would have survived for longer had the drain not kinked and been inserted correctly.
‘We know that we won’t ever get Emme back, we just want to make sure that something is done and that this never happens again.’