A young woman who kept a diary detailing perceived "failures" in her care while at Hull Royal Infirmary was not the victim of failings, an inquest into her death has concluded.
Katie Gray, who at 13 was diagnosed with transverse myelitis, a neurological disorder that left her paralysed, spent several weeks on a ward, where she kept a record of what she and her family believed was poor treatment.
Following a three-day inquest, Professor Paul Marks, the senior coroner for Hull and the East Riding, concluded staff at the hospital were not at fault for her death.
He said: "There is no evidence that Katie's care at Hull Royal Infirmary fell below acceptable standards." Prof Marks added steps taken as part of the care plan were "logical".
Miss Gray, who held a masters in English literature from the University of Hull, fell ill in the spring of 2016. She lost weight and had a "yellow hue", the hearing was told.
She was subsequently admitted to hospital, where doctors suspected liver damage. Miss Gray was discharged, at her request, on June 10 and was visited by medical professionals at her west Hull home.
By now, Miss Gray was suffering from pressure sores on her leg, which became infected and resulted in her being readmitted to hospital on July 29, where her condition deteriorated.
The sores caused sepsis, a lethal blood infection, leading to multi-organ failure.
Despite the "heroic" efforts of staff on the intensive care unit, Miss Gray died at home on September 9, 2016, after doctors said there was nothing more they could do.
According to Miss Gray's diary, she was "accused of being an alcoholic" and was "not showered for three weeks" while in hospital.
However, Prof Marks warned the entries "should be interpreted with caution", and noted Miss Gray had declined the offer of a mattress change and "visual checks of pressure spots".
The inquest, held at Hull Coroners' Court, was told how a doctor had not visited Miss Gray on July 25.
Giving evidence, the doctor said, in hindsight, he should have visited her but Prof Marks said this had not contributed to her death.
Prof Marks said there was "considerable confusion" around the chronology of Miss Gray's family's version of events.
It was further alleged by the family a buzzer next to her hospital bed was not working and that she had been asked by one member of staff: "Is it not time you got out of bed and moved around?"
Professor Marks said he found there is no "ongoing system failures", but noted procedures around blood testing and home visits had since been tightened.
Concluding, Prof Marks said: "The only logical conclusion is Katie died as a result of natural causes."
In a statement, Mike Wright, chief nurse at Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "We would like to extend our condolences to the family of Katie Gray.
"We welcome Professor Marks' conclusion that there was no evidence of Katie's care falling below acceptable standards, that steps taken by staff were logical in relation to her care and that there was a plan in place to respond to her condition.
"We agree with the coroner that the content of Katie’s diary should be 'interpreted with caution' and that she was able to make her own decisions in relation to her care. We would like to point out hospital notes taken at the time show Katie declined interventions by our staff on several occasions despite being fully aware of the risk to her health.
"The coroner heard and accepted evidence that Katie’s clinical condition had improved by the time she was discharged from hospital in June.
"Professor Marks concluded that her care on ICU was 'heroic' and every conceivable measure was taken by our staff to save her.
"During the inquest, Katie’s family raised concerns about her time at Hull Royal Infirmary and, as outlined by our senior staff when they gave their evidence to the coroner, we will look into those allegations and report back to the family in due course."
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