Inquest into death of Ipswich mum of three Denise Johnson

Denise Johnson, from Ipswich, died on November 24 2022 in Ipswich Hospital.

Her inquest resumed at Suffolk Coroners Court on Monday hearing the process of Mrs Johnson receiving support from Ipswich and Addenbrookes hospitals.

The inquest heard the mum-of-three had gone to hospital for a ERCP procedure to help treat her bile duct and gallstones.

During the ERCP, a stent was inserted to help with the blocked bile duct.

Dr Hemant Laxaman told the court the ERCP procedure is a "complex" procedure and around 6% of cases lead to pancreatitis.

This was the case for Mrs Johnson, who was also undergoing treatment for breast cancer.

Denise Johnson passed away on November 24, 2022 (Image: Emily Clack)

The court heard the risks and benefits of the procedure are told to the patient prior to procedure, and patients need to sign a consent form for it to be carried out.

Over the coming months, more stents were added, with radiologist Dr Simon Smith stating in his witness statement that the "drainage procedures were a success" but it is "hard to achieve results with small drains".

The inquest heard Mrs Johnson, a grandmother-of-one, was due to have a surgery to replace the smaller stents with larger ones.

Dr Thomas Groot-Wassink was due to perform the procedure, as he was one of the "limited individuals" with the knowledge of how to perform such a complex surgery.

Denise with her husband Darren. They met when they were 15 (Image: Emily Clack)

Originally, the surgery was set for October 25, but the court heard Mr Groot-Wassink had caught Covid prior to this, and was off work between October 25 and November 15, pushing the surgery back to November 25.

Mrs Johnson died the day before the surgery.

During this time, Mrs Johnson underwent a CT scan on November 6, with the results sent to Addenbrooke's for advice.

However, the court heard how Addenbrooke's Hospital were not informed of Mr Groot-Wassink's absence and so the advice was not acted on.

Dr Ali Malik, consultant general surgeon for ESNEFT told the inquest it was "not easy to make contact" between the two hospitals.

He said: "It is very time consuming and we don't have access to the same systems.

"Sometimes you are also trying to make contact with someone who is performing operations."

Mr Groot-Wassink gave evidence as the named consultant in charge of Mrs Johnson's care and said October 25 would have been the earliest he could have carried out the procedure.

While he was off work sick, Mrs Johnson was left with no named consultant to care for her.

The court heard how this is because someone would need to offer to take over the care, rather than be volunteered to do it.

Mr Groot-Wassink said: "It is not a standard practice for someone to take over her care while I was away.

"The situation we are dealing with is very specialised though.

"There is no pancreatic service at Ipswich Hospital anymore so it is all down to what individuals are willing and capable of doing it."

Members of Mrs Johnson's family were in attendance.

They previously described her as "a very bubbly, kind, caring and considerate person.

The inquest is expected to conclude on Tuesday.