Latest news with #DrDuncanThomas
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Doctor was 'astounded' at how quickly cricket star Steve James' daughter deteriorated before her death - and tells inquest earlier treatment would not have saved 21-year-old
The doctor caring for the daughter of an England cricket star has said he was 'astounded' at how quickly she deteriorated ahead of her death, a coroner's court has heard. Bethan James, 21, the daughter of former Glamorgan and England cricketer Steve James, died on February 8, 2020, just a few hours after being admitted to the University Hospital of Wales (UHW). A post-mortem examination found Ms James died of sepsis and pneumonia, with complications caused by Crohn's disease. Ms James, a journalism student at the University of South Wales, was treated by Dr Duncan Thomas, who said he was surprised by how quickly her condition worsened when she was brought into UHW. Dr Thomas expressed 'frustration' that Ms James had not been brought to the resuscitation area - used for treating the most seriously ill patients - earlier. However, he did not believe there was anything that could have been done to save her. Addressing South Wales Central Coroner's Court on Thursday, Mr Thomas said: 'I was, I think it's fair to say, astounded at how quickly Bethan was deteriorating. 'The rate of Bethan's deterioration was not something I had previously observed in someone of her age group, and, in my career, I have only ever seen it one more time.' While dealing with another emergency patient in cardiac arrest, Dr Thomas was informed of Ms James's worsening condition. He said: 'When I went back, Bethan was in a highly distressed state, likely as a result of multiple factors. 'She was on the edge of the bed, holding on to her mother - Bethan looked extraordinarily unwell. 'It was my clinical impression at that time that we would be looking at Bethan's cardiac arrest within a short period of time.' Throughout the inquest, concerns were raised over whether more could have been done earlier including over paramedics failing to alert the hospital about the seriousness of Ms James's condition before she was brought in. While Dr Thomas said the hospital should have received a 'pre-alert', he did not believe it would have saved her life, with damage to multiple organs already present before she arrived. 'It's my belief that, unfortunately, Bethan would have died,' he said. 'Bethan's presentation and rate of deterioration were incredibly atypical of someone of her age group.' He told the coroner, Patricia Morgan, that Ms James was suffering from a viral, rather than bacterial, form of sepsis which meant that any antibiotics they were using would not have helped. 'There would have been nothing that we were providing that would have stopped the ongoing pathology of the viral infection,' he said. Dr Thomas said Ms James's death had a 'profound' impact on him and other staff at the hospital, adding: 'I wish there was something I could have done'. Dr Anurag Joshi, the pathologist who carried out Ms James's post-mortem examination, said Crohn's, an inflammatory bowel disease which he listed as a contributory factor in her death, can lead to immune suppression. Ms James had suffered with gastrointestinal issues for most of her life and had been diagnosed with Crohn's disease in 2019. The inquest continues.
BBC News
5 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Bethan James' doctor 'astounded' by how quickly sepsis progressed
A top doctor at the hospital where a 21-year-old died from combination of sepsis, pneumonia and Crohn's disease says he does not believe any treatment would have saved her. Bethan James, the daughter of former Glamorgan and England cricketer Steve James, died on 8 February 2020 at University Hospital Wales in Cardiff after she had been seen at hospital on a number of occasions in the days leading up to her mother, Jane James, previously told the court she felt medical staff missed opportunities to treat the journalism student for a consultant told the court he was "astounded" at the speed of the deterioration in Ms James' health and that there was "no cure". Dr Duncan Thomas, who was in charge of resuscitation at the hospital, said he had never seen anything like Ms James' deterioration in a patient of her age and only one other time previously in his career. He told the inquest he did not believe anything would have saved the student from the moment she arrived at hospital two and a half hours also concluded nothing more could be done to resuscitate her after she later went into cardiac arrest, the inquest heard. Dr Thomas said Ms James, from Cardiff, had a viral rather than the more common bacterial form of James was treated with fluids and antibiotics but the consultant said "nothing we were providing would stop the ongoing pathological progress of that viral infection".There were no drugs in use at the time to tackle viral sepsis, the inquest heard. After arriving at hospital Ms James was seen by a triage nurse and sent to the acute "majors" zone of the emergency department for more than an hour rather than the highest level resuscitation area, the inquest heard. Dr Thomas said it would have been appropriate for the hospital to be given a pre-alert that Ms James was being brought in by paramedics to the emergency he had received the alert, the consultant said he would have taken steps to attempt to create room in resuscitation where tests would have revealed an hour earlier how ill she was. However, it would not have made any difference to Ms James' outcome, Dr Thomas told the coroner. "It is my belief Bethan would have died," he Thomas said that given the results of the tests it was likely she had had sepsis for "some considerable time, likely hours".Under questioning from Ms James' family's lawyer, Dr Thomas agreed that with earlier high level intervention the time she went into cardiac arrest may have been delayed - but maintained she would likely still have done Thomas said: "Bethan's death had a profound impact on myself. She died in an atypical and rapid way which has stayed with me."
