Inquest into death of mother who died from sickle cell disease looks at Frimley Park Hospital care

An inquest into the death of a woman from sickle cell disease at Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey opened today. Irene Dzifa King Arthur from Church Crookham in Hampshire died in August 2024 - following four days of care at the Surrey hospital.

During the inquest her family raised concerns about how her condition was managed at Frimley Park.

The inquest today (Tuesday 27 January) focused on the medical care Irene received in the days leading up to her death.

Irene Dzifa King Arthur was 47, a mother of two, and she had sickle cell disease.

She managed periods of pain at home, but in August 2024 she was admitted to Frimley Park Hospital where she died a few days later.

A post-mortem revealed the cause of her death as pulmonary emboli, or blood clots, together with her sickle cell disease and a virus she'd picked up, parvovirus.

On Tuesday a witness statement was read out from Irene's husband Dominic.

In it he said he'd spent time with his wife in hospital and said she told him she felt she wasn't being listened to and he was worried about the level of knowledge of sickle cell disease.

A lot of the evidence surrounded a blood transfusion given to Irene on 7 of August.

Her condition had deteriorated and questions were asked about whether an earlier transfusion could have led to a different outcome.

Dr Lucinda Blake, the consultant haematologist at Frimley Park at the time, said tests were regularly being carried out and Irene had been moved closer to the nurse's station for monitoring.

She said "We try our best to do the best patient-centred medicine, and the discussion with her was that we tried to avoid a transfusion if we could."

When asked if an earlier transfusion could have saved her she said catastrophic emboli are difficult to survive whether you have anaemia or not.

A pen portrait was read out revealing Irene was a devoted mother.

She was also successful in her career as an aviation policy advisor and she held a position with a charity helping people with Downs Syndrome and their families.

Her husband said the world was "a better place with her in it."

The inquest into her death continues.

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