Sepsis: Our son might be alive if medics didn't fail to recognise symptoms

A devastated family have rejected an apology from an NHS board and are calling for answers over the death of their son who they claim was not taken seriously by medics in the days leading up to his death from sepsis.

Russell McLuckie, 28, died from multiorgan failure caused by the disease at Forth Valley Royal Hospital in October 2021.

He was originally admitted with severe colitis but deteriorated rapidly while in hospital. His family claim his symptoms of sepsis were clear but medics failed to recognise them.

His mum, Anne, told STV News: “They judged Russell because he was young, I think it was because of his age. He was in agony.

Russell McLuckie, 28, died from multiorgan failure caused by the disease at Forth Valley Royal Hospital in October 2021. Supplied

“He had the bluest eyes you’ve ever seen, they would stop people in their tracks and I had to stand there and watch the life drain out of them.

“I have to live with that memory every single day and always will do.

“They did nothing to help him when he told them about the pain and that something was taking over his body.”

Russell’s parents claim medics told their son his pain was due to trapped wind.

Russell McLuckie's parents still want answers. — Russell McLuckie’s parents still want answers. STV News

They told STV News that from the moment he was admitted to hospital, he wasn’t treated appropriately and spent his first few days in a “cleaning cupboard” before being transferred to a ward. The hospital was still operating under contingency measures due to Covid.

Anne said: “There were a lot of things. He was told to stop pressing the buzzer. He was told there were cancer patients that needed more help than him.”

In a desperate attempt to get answers, Anne and Russell’s dad William turned to medical experts for help.

Following an independent investigation, they found the treatment Russell received fell below the standards expected, and if his symptoms of sepsis had been recognised sooner, he could have survived.

Derek Couper, principle lawyer and head of clinical negligence for Slater and Gordon, said: “Our expert witnesses agree the treatment Russell received fell below the standard that ought to be expected of the staff at NHS Forth Valley.

“Secondly, those failures in care contributed or actually caused the tragic outcome of this case.”

He added: “The threshold for medical negligence cases is very high, so the fact we believe we have reached that threshold in this case is of real significance.

“This is a case of abject failure by the people that are supposed to look after us in our times of need. Russell wasn’t looked after and not only wasn’t he given the right treatment, the treatment he was given culminated or even caused his death.”

NHS Forth Valley has issued an apology to Russell’s family for the length of time it’s taken to conduct the review.

In a statement, they told STV News: “Following a detailed review, we identified a number of actions to further strengthen and improve sepsis training and education across our clinical teams.

“We met with the family to share the review findings and all the recommendations identified have been fully implemented. We would encourage the family to get in touch with our Patient Relations team if they have any further questions or concerns so we can look into these and respond directly.

“Patient safety remains our highest priority, and we will continue to take forward service developments and improvements to ensure patients receive the best care and treatment available.”

Russell’s dad, William, said: “Apologies mean nothing. They don’t fix it. We want an explanation.”

His parents said nothing will ever bring back their son but they’ll continue to fight for more answers.