THE family of a woman who died after being given three times the recommended dose of a sedative has been awarded £65,000 in compensation.

Nicola Ames, 35, from Middle Mead, Rochford, died at Southend Hospital in December 2009.

She was admitted with acute pancreatitis and Miss Ames, who had a history of alcohol dependency and epilepsy, became agitated and was sedated.

By the following day, medical staff experienced difficulty in dealing with her agitation, confusion and lack of co-operation even though they had given her a significant dose of sedative Haloperidol.

Despite becoming hypoxic, where insufficient oxygen reaches body tissues, she was not transferred to the intensive care department where she would have been put on a ventilator to help her breath properly.

Despite the hypoxia worsening, and the absence of senior medics, staff continued to administer the sedative, eventually giving her more than three times the recommended dose. Miss Ames suffered a cardiac arrest and died shortly after midnight on December 18.

Lawyers, Attwaters Jameson Hill, acted for Miss Ames’ mother, who asked not to be named, against the hospital.

They claimed medical negligence and settled the case, securing damages for pain and suffering, funeral expenses and a dependency claim.

An investigation later established that over ten-and-a-half hours, Miss Ames was given 55mg of Haloperidol, compared to a recommended daily maximum dosage of 15mg.

Sarah Wealleans, of Attwaters Jameson Hill, said: “Hospital staff basically lost control of the situation and were unable to control Nicola’s alcohol withdrawal.

Rather than intubating her, which would have deemed the patient safe and provided the opportunity for effective treatment, they just kept administering sedatives in huge quantities.

This caused her death.”

Jacqueline Totterdell, the hospital’s chief executive said: “We once again offer our sincere condolences to Nicola’s family and recognise the circumstances leading up to and regarding her death in 2009 have made this a particularly difficult time for them.

“We recognise the standard of care we provided at that time was not of the standard we would expect and again we apologise for this.

“With regards the inquest, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage as the coroner’s findings will not be known until the case is reopened.”