The family of a grandmother has stated they will 'never forgive' a Birmingham hospital after a health watchdog determined that medics missed opportunities to save her life. Sevinc Ulkueri, 76, a Turkish-speaking patient with limited English, was treated at Heartlands Hospital for nearly a week before doctors identified a bowel blockage. Despite her language barrier, she was not provided with an interpreter, forcing her daughters to act as translators during medical consultations.
Missed Diagnosis and Fatal Outcome
Ms. Ulkueri was admitted to Heartlands Hospital in March 2021 after experiencing vomiting, abdominal pain, shortness of breath, and constipation. Initially, she was diagnosed with pneumonia and treated accordingly. A chest X-ray revealed multiple bowel loops, a potential sign of blockage, but this was not acted upon until a week later. National guidelines indicate that physical examinations alone are insufficient to rule out a blockage, yet doctors concluded obstruction was unlikely and encouraged her to eat—a decision that increased pressure around the blockage and raised the risk of bowel perforation.
Bowel Perforation and Sepsis
When the trust finally diagnosed a bowel obstruction nearly a week after admission, Ms. Ulkueri's bowel had already perforated, allowing air and waste to leak into her abdominal cavity. She underwent surgery to treat an abscess causing the blockage but developed sepsis shortly afterward and died.
Watchdog Findings
The Parliamentary and Health Ombudsman (PHSO) found that University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Heartlands Hospital, missed several opportunities to diagnose the bowel obstruction due to insufficient investigation of symptoms. Had proper investigations been conducted, the blockage would likely have been identified and treated, preventing infection, perforation, and sepsis. The Ombudsman also criticized the trust for failing to meet Ms. Ulkueri's communication needs by not providing an interpreter.
Rebecca Hilsenrath, chief executive of the PHSO, stated: "This distressing case highlights the importance of listening to patients. Supporting Sevinc to communicate how she was feeling would have respected her right to be heard. Her input could have led to a faster diagnosis." She added that failings such as delayed reporting on scans, insufficient investigations, and poor communication are seen too often.
Family's Grief and Demand for Justice
Ms. Ulkueri's daughter, Seniz Greenhalgh, expressed the family's anguish: "How could we have known that when the ambulance took our beloved mother to hospital she would never come home? The intense pain, coupled with her very limited English, meant she relied on me and my sister to communicate with the medical team. They repeatedly ignored or dismissed our pleas to take her abdominal pain seriously. Instead, they repeatedly said her bowel was not blocked. Our loving mother's death was both premature and completely avoidable. We will never forgive the hospital for the pain, fear, and suffering our mother endured, and for the lifelong grief they have inflicted on our family."
Trust Apology and Compensation
Following the Ombudsman's recommendations, the trust apologized to Ms. Ulkueri's family and paid them £15,000 in recognition of the distress caused. The trust also agreed to improve its approach to investigating bowel problems. In a statement, the trust said: "We would like to express our sincere condolences to Mrs. Ulkueri's family for their loss and are sorry for the circumstances that led to her death in 2021. We remain committed to learning from this incident to reduce the risk of such events happening again and to ensure patients receive safe, timely, inclusive and compassionate care at all times."
