Hospital cleared over Telford grandmother's death

Irene Wilton, 63, from Telford, died just days after chlorine levels in dialysis machines were found to be 19 times higher than deemed safe at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham. Within 18 hours Trevor Wickes, 81, from Hereford, also died following dialysis treatment.

But Birmingham coroner Louise Hunt recorded a verdict of death by natural causes on both after medical experts told Birmingham Coroners Court that there was no evidence that the chlorine levels had contributed to their "unique" deaths. Dr Robert Flanagan, consultant of toxicology at Kings College Hospital London, said the contamination was "extremely unlikely to have caused harm".

Mrs Wilton, a retired sales assistant, lived with husband Tony in Candleberry Meadow in Ketley. The couple had two daughters and three grandchildren.

The inquest heard Mrs Wilton was admitted to the intensive care unit at the QE Hospital on July 25 with cytomegalovirus (CMV) pneumonia, following a single lung transplant in September 2013.

She was placed on a dialysis machine to take waste products from her blood, which used water with chlorine levels at 1.98 parts per million. The safe level is considered to be 0.1ppm for dialysis patients.

The contamination is believed to have started on August 1, but was not discovered until the morning of August 4.

Irene, described as "very happy and jovial person" by her husband, died on the evening of August 11.

Speaking outside their home, Mr Wilton said: "We did think it might be a contributory factor at the time of her death, and the hospital certainly seemed to be very worried about it.

"But they have carried out extensive investigations and we have heard from experts who have said they do not think it played a part in her death. We accept the verdict of the inquest."

Sarah Flavell, author of an internal investigation at the hospital, told the court that the contamination was caused by "human error", and the incorrect wiring of the fail-safe which alerts of a high dosage. Her report outlined that these errors had been rectified and "lessons learnt".

A spokesman for University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust said: "The death of any patient within the trust is regrettable and we extend our sympathies to the families of the two patients concerned."