A PATIENT who underwent surgery at Worcester Royal Infirmary died nine days after her operation.

Grandmother Carol Lloyd never regained consciousness following an operation to remove her gall bladder.

Her family - expecting her to return home soon after the procedure - were left devastated when they heard that all her organs had failed and she had subsequently died as a result of blood poisoning.

"We just expected her to go in one day and come out the next. We just never expected this to happen," said her husband Peter, speaking after the inquest in Worcester.

His daughter, Sarah, aged 25, added: "We had visions of her coming round to explain everything that had happened to her in detail. She would have had us all laughing. That was the kind of person she was."

The inquest on the 52-year-old office worker recorded a verdict of accidental death.

Mr Lloyd, also joined by brother-in-law Peter Green, said the family did not blame the hospital for his wife's death.

Very caring

"On both sides, the surgical and the care, they did everything they could. The nurses were a credit to themselves, very caring," said Mr Green.

Mr and Mrs Lloyd had been married for 28 years after meeting when two grocery firms they were working for merged.

The inquest heard Mrs Lloyd had seen consultant surgeon John Black in December 1999 after suffering abdominal pains for around six months. Her family had a history of liver problems, but Mrs Lloyd's condition was life-threatening.

Her operation took place on Monday, October 9 last year at Ronkswood Hospital. When problems were spotted, Mrs Lloyd had a second operation, but remained on a life support machine until she died nine days later.

"She was a happy go-lucky type of person, taking life as it came," said Mr Lloyd. "You could describe her as the life and soul of a party.

"The hardest part has been all the questions we had. We feel those have been answered now."