Family raise concerns over mum's rabies treatment

The family of a woman who died from rabies after contact with a puppy in Morocco have said they want an upcoming inquest to give her "dignity in death".

Yvonne Ford, 59, was diagnosed at Barnsley Hospital after returning to the UK and was transferred to the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield where she died on 11 June.

Her husband, Ronald Ford, and children Adam Ford and Robyn Thomson, told a pre-inquest review at Sheffield Medico-Legal Centre they were unhappy with her treatment in Barnsley.

A spokesperson for the hospital said they were unable to comment at this stage of the proceedings.

Mrs Ford's relatives said they were "concerned" about the medical response to her struggling to speak, eat and drink.

Hospital statements submitted to the court ahead of the inquest said she had been able to walk, but her children said they had "video that shows she could not".

Assistant Coroner Marilyn Whittle asked the family, who were representing themselves, to provide the video along with their account of how she had seemed when she became unwell.

She said she would accept evidence from them about Mrs Ford's mobility, ability to eat, and "anything that is relevant" to establishing how she came about her death.

Christmas and what would have been her 60th birthday would inevitably be a "difficult time" for the family, Ms Whittle said, giving them until the end of January to provide their evidence.

Ms Whittle said the family had a "burning desire" to ask questions of witnesses.

She noted that inquest hearings were "not punitive" but aimed to establish the medical cause of death, the circumstances that led to it, and answer the "who, what, when, where and why".

After the hearing, Mr Ford said it was "not fair" how his wife had been treated.

He had told the hearing that on 7 June, after she had had an MRI scan at the Royal Hallamshire, a member of the staff had called him and said she did not have rabies.

Mrs Ford's son, Adam, told the hearing this was "something that has been bothering me" but that the family had no issue with the treatment she received there.

Ms Thomson said after the hearing that she hoped the inquest would give her mum "dignity in death".

In October, she travelled to Cambodia as part of a dog vaccination drive with Mission Rabies.

"Watching my mum being so poorly from rabies was just horrendous and I don't want anybody else to suffer like she did," she said previously, describing the loss of her mum as "unimaginable".

The inquest has been scheduled for 2 to 5 March next year.

It will be held in front of a jury due to rabies being a notifiable disease.

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