A devastating case of medical negligence has been uncovered after a young mother died from sepsis when hospital staff failed to recognise she was vomiting faeces - a critical sign of bowel obstruction.
Stephanie Mfongwot, 31, from Bristol, attended the city's Royal Infirmary twice in December 2022 complaining of severe abdominal pain and vomiting brown liquid. Tragically, doctors dismissed her symptoms as constipation and sent her home with laxatives on both occasions.
A Mother's Pleas Ignored
Despite Stephanie's repeated concerns that something was seriously wrong, medical staff at University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust failed to conduct proper investigations. Her family described how she was vomiting what appeared to be faecal matter, a clear indicator of bowel obstruction that requires immediate surgical intervention.
"She knew something was terribly wrong," her grieving family told investigators. "She begged for help, but they sent her away with laxatives when she was actually vomiting faeces. How could they miss something so critical?"
Systemic Failures Exposed
An inquest into Stephanie's death revealed multiple failures in her care:
- Failure to recognise faecal vomiting as a red flag symptom
- Inadequate physical examinations
- Lack of appropriate imaging or scans
- Premature discharge without proper assessment
- Failure to consider bowel obstruction diagnosis
Coroner Dr Peter Harrowing concluded that Stephanie's death was contributed to by neglect. He identified "gross failures" in her medical care that directly led to her preventable death from sepsis.
A Family's Unanswered Questions
Stephanie leaves behind two young children and a family struggling to comprehend how such basic medical errors could occur in a modern NHS hospital. Her case has raised serious questions about patient safety and diagnostic protocols in emergency medicine.
"We trusted the hospital to help her," her family stated. "Instead, they failed to recognise a life-threatening condition that any medical student should identify. We've lost a beautiful mother, and her children have lost their world."
The trust has since implemented changes to its assessment procedures for abdominal pain patients, but for Stephanie's family, these measures come too late to prevent an utterly avoidable tragedy.
