A LOVABLE daughter who "never offended anyone" could still be alive if she had not been neglected in hospital, her devastated mother said.

Kelly Stevens, who had profound learning and physical disabilities, died at Worcestershire Royal Hospital after doctors failed to spot she had low sodium levels.

The 41-year-old's mother Angela Robinson said Kelly was always a fighter and lived life to the fullest. 

She believes neglect at Worcestershire Royal Hospital killed her daughter after a recent inquest into Kelly's death found several failings with the service.

Kelly Stevens lived at Prospect Place in Worcester.Kelly Stevens loved living at Prospect Place in Worcester. (Image: Angela Robinson) Worcestershire senior coroner David Reid discovered a string of issues with her care at the city's hospital including doctors copying and pasting out-of-date care plans and a failure for any one consultant to take charge of her case.

Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust apologised unreservedly for its failings and said its care had fallen short. 

"I am hurt and upset knowing she would have still been with us if it was not for them," said Mrs Robinson.

"They knew she had low sodium levels and it needed to be checked."

Kelly was first admitted to the hospital on December 28, 2023, after having issues with her PEG Tube.

"She was always a fighter and in 2022 she went into hospital with phenomena - she was in there for six weeks and pulled through.

"Then she goes in with a simple blockage in her PEG and dies.

"They told me she had not got the nutrition she needed in five days - for me, that says they could have starved her.

"It has affected the family, and her four siblings still feel the loss now."

"I hope now, after the inquest, things will be put in place to stop this from happening to other families."

Kelly's father, Albert Stevens, had found the death difficult and died six months later.

"Everyone loved her and she brought laughter to everyone, even strangers.

"She has lived there [Prospect Place in Worcester] for 18 years and over 100 carers past and present were at her funeral.

"She had a full life and went on holidays and even enjoyed going to Disneyland Paris."

Sarah Shingler, chief nursing officer at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, offered her deepest condolences to Ms Stevens’ family for their loss.  

She added: “We have carried out a full investigation and as a result a comprehensive action plan has been put in place, including targeted education around prescribing, sharing learning and best practice with colleagues, as well as additional oversight to help avoid events like this happening in future.

"In addition, as soon as the issue with the copy and paste function became apparent, we made immediate changes to our digital patient record system to remove this functionality.

"Ms Stevens’ family have been kept updated on our investigation process throughout, and the full set of actions we are taking as a result will be shared with them."