Laura Farmer
16 Sept 2024 · Coroner Mary Hassell · Inner North London
The coroner's concerns
1. misunderstanding of E coli infection risks
“[the deceased] and her family found her diagnosis of an E coli infection difficult to understand”
2. inadequate data collection on exposure pathways
“Someone from what was described to me as public health (I assume the UKHSA) spoke to [the deceased] the day before her death, asking for information”
3. omission of source investigation
“The UKHSA did not at any stage ask [REDACTED] for information to assist in attempting to determine the source of the E coli infection that ultimately killed his wife”
4. lack of post-diagnosis safety guidance
“After his wife's diagnosis, Mr [name redacted] was given no advice about how to keep himself and their child safe”
5. barriers to accessing public health information
“He struck me as a person of significant drive, and yet he found it incredibly difficult to find the correct person to speak to and then incredibly difficult to gain any meaningful understanding of what had happened”