Father of Northampton man shares anguish due to delays into inquest into son's death
20 year old Luke Abrahams of Northampton died of sepsis and a bacterial infection in 2023.
The family of a Northampton man who died from sepsis are angry at delays to an inquest into the circumstances surrounding his death.
20-year-old Luke Abrahams, from East Hunsbury, died from a bacterial infection and the flesh-eating disease, necrotising fasciitis in January 2023.
His relatives say that was missed by medics when he was first taken ill and he was wrongly diagnosed. He was told he had tonsillitis then sciatica.
When his illness was discovered Luke had his leg amputated, but it wasn't enough to save his life. He died on 23 January 2023.
A full inquest into Luke's death was due in May this year but has now been pushed back until 2026.
Luke's father Richard doesn’t see why there’s an ongoing wait for answers:
“We’ve already suffered a wait of two years, but are now into a third. My concern is if anything were to happen to us family members through this. It’s an emotional physical mental strain.
“If you’re on a job and make a mistake you get a written warning. You cannot do this in this job, and you can’t learn lessons using people’s lives.”
Accountability
Luke was an active and fit young man when he died in January 2023.
He wasn't seen in person by a GP, and his symptoms reportedly weren't spotted by East Midlands Ambulance Service crews or Northampton General Hospital when he presented at Accident and Emergency.
Richard tells us the family want accountability from those they say missed the signs of Luke's illness:
"Anyone of those people, have got to be brought accountable."
Speaking on behalf of the health system in the county Chief Nursing Officer from NHS Northamptonshire Integrated Care Board Maria Laffan said:
“As a health community we would like to once again offer our sincere condolences to Luke’s family on his tragic death.
"A multi-agency incident investigation to explore lessons learned was held into the circumstances of his death in 2023 and recognition and apology made for aspects of his care that fell below NHS standards. This has been shared with his family and has included the opportunity to ask questions and receive answers.”
Northamptonshire's Coroners have been contacted for comment.