rhovenden@thekmgroup.co.uk

A hospital has given a family £5,000 in compensation after a woman died from a burst bowel while waiting for a CT scan.

Jean Simmons, 81, was taken to Darent Valley Hospital in April 2010 suffering from stomach pains.

Her bowel burst while she waited for a CT scan and she died.

The hospital admitted a breach of duty in relation to Mrs Simmons's care and has given her son, Paul Simmons, £5,000 compensation.

Then when her two granddaughters went to say their final goodbyes in the hospital's Chapel of Rest , the women quickly realised the body they were shown wasn't their grandmother.

A hospital spokesman said: "Mr Simmons claim has been settled in the amount of £5,000.

"We have given Mr Simmons a full account of events during his mother's stay, in response to his complaint.

"We have offered Mr Simmons our sincere apologies for the poor service his mother experienced.

"We see 100,000 patients a year in our emergency services and occasionally some patient's symptoms are not straightforward.

"Each case is unique but where we make a mistake, our staff will learn and put measures in place to stop it happening again."

He added: "We have apologised for the breakdown in communication at the Chapel of Rest. We had received a message that the family were running late and subsequently prepared for the next viewing.

"When the family arrived they were mistakenly assumed to be for the next appointment.

"We have now changed our procedure to ensure that names are confirmed, before relatives are escorted to the Chapel of Rest."