A MUM died within hours of being diagnosed with a deadly flesh-eating bug.

Rachel Crowe, of Fleeming Close, in Walthamstow, died at Whipps Cross Hospital just hours after being diagnosed with necrotising fascitis – a rare bacterial infection which spreads rapidly causing blistering of the skin and can cause toxins to be released internally.

At Walthamstow Coroner's Court today, Coroner Dr Elizabeth Stearns made recommendations for lessons to be learned by the hospital after the court heard that the mum may not have been given the antibiotics needed to help treat the infection because the A& E department at Whipps Cross hospital had run out.

But the drugs chart to prove whether or not Ms Crowe had been administered the drug was missing, the court heard.

Her partner of 16 years, Adam Brown, told the Coroner that the 44-year-old health visitor had been feeling unwell for several days but they attributed it to her rheumatoid arthritis, which had caused her a lot of discomfort for 15 years and she was taking steroids for.

She was prescribed morphine by her GP, but when the stiffness and pain in her left side persisted, Mr Brown took her to hospital, along with their three-year-old daughter, Bethany.

Mr Brown said that on arrival at hospital she could barely walk and her speech was slurred and her tongue swollen.

The court heard from Dr Charlie O'Donnell, a consultant doctor at Whipps Cross Hospital A&E that the infection was not diagnosed initially, but doctors recognised her body was going into shock and her heart rate was abnormal.

He said anti-biotics prescribed by the doctor because of a risk of a life-threatening infection were not administered because the drug was not available in the department.

He said a nurse tried to find the drug elsewhere but Ms Crowe was transferred to an intensive care department and there is no record to prove whether or not she received the treatment before dying the following day.

Dr Andy Morris, a clinical director on the intensive care unit, said Ms Crowe was diagnosed with the bacterial infection in intensive care and given anti-biotics - but by then her condition had deteriorated.

Forty per cent of her body was affected by the infection, which caused blistering of the skin on her lower body.

He said: “It was clear looking at her skin that she was in big trouble. I have never seen anything like it. Her skin was in a terrible state. It was clear very quickly that she wouldn't survive it.”

When asked by the Coroner if the outcome would have been different if Ms Crowe was given the anti-biotics nine hours earlier, Dr Morris said: “It is difficult to say whether that would have saved her life.”

A pathologist said Ms Crowe died of multi-organ failure, which had been caused by the necrotising fascititis which led to septicaemia. The underlying disease rheumatoid arthritis was also recorded as a contributing factor because, the Coroner said, someone on steroids for a long time is less able to fight infection.

Recording a verdict of natural causes, Dr Stearn said she had considered whether there had been neglect of Ms Crowe at the hospital but said this could not be proven.

She said: “We don't know whether the drug was obtained or the doctor gave an alternative – or whether none was given at all. We cannot speculate.”

She said that often the infection enters the body through a wound, possibly after an operation, but it was unknown how Ms Crowe contracted it.

Outside the court, Ms Crowe's parents, partner and brother and sister said they were shocked by the findings.

Dr Annabel Crowe said: “The crucial paperwork was missing about the treatment of anti-biotics and possible nine-hour delay before she received them and they are not here with the paperwork, which leaves a question over what happened.”

Her father, Tony Crowe, a retired priest said that just a week before her death his daughter had been visiting him for a holiday in Whiststable in Kent, and had been happy and healthy.

“We don't feel satisfied. The Coroner seriously considered whether to choose natural causes coupled with neglect. I hope they have learned their lessons.”