Marianne Mortemore’s family branded her care ‘appalling, degrading, and undignified’
Howard Lloyd Regional content editor
10:19, 07 Apr 2026Updated 10:19, 07 Apr 2026
Grandmother Marianne Mortemore died after a penicillin mix-up(Image: SWNS)
A gran died after bungling NHS staff ignored warnings she was allergic to penicillin – and gave her another patient’s dose by mistake. Marianne Mortemore, 69, died following a “catalogue of errors” by medics in what her family say was the “most appalling, degrading, and undignified” care.
The gran-of-four was first admitted to the University Hospital of North Durham with issues from an ongoing skin condition in February 2024. She was examined but staff missed the fact she had developed critical limb ischaemia, a life-threatening disease which restricted blood flow to her leg.
It was only discovered by chance after Marianne’s family asked a podiatrist to cut her toenails. Her family also repeatedly warned staff about Marianne’s allergy to certain medicines, including penicillin.
But due to a fatal mix-up, Marianne was given another patient’s penicillin by mistake. After being given the drug, she suffered a heart attack and despite undergoing CPR, she died days later.
Grandmother Marianne died following a catalogue of errors(Image: SWNS)
Her heartbroken family hired medical negligence lawyers Slater and Gordon to investigate her care – which revealed shocking failings. Marianne’s daughter Catherine said: “We live with a mixture of anger and upset at what happened to our mam.
“We couldn’t really believe what was going on at the time, she was deteriorating so quickly that her getting better was our priority, but some of the things that happened in that hospital will live with us forever.
“It was just a catalogue of errors, as if our mam didn’t matter. Mam was highly allergic to penicillin and there were warnings everywhere – she had her own bracelet, the hospital gave her a wristband, it was on the board, in her medical notes.
“They didn’t even apologise when they told us what had happened, they just said there had been a mistake.”
During Marianne’s six-day stay in the hospital in Durham, she was not given a pillow and was left on a bed in the middle of a packed ward. The investigation into her care also revealed that staff failed to give her medication on time.
Marianne’s critical limb ischaemia was only discovered by chance after her family asked a podiatrist to cut her toenails(Image: Slater and Gordon / SWNS)
This included an incident where she was left “screaming in agony” as staff attempted to insert a catheter. One nurse even left her bedside to greet her friends who had come into the ward to visit her and was seen “high-fiving” her pals.
Marianne was finally given a scan revealing she was suffering acute limb ischaemia and was transferred to Sunderland Royal Hospital for specialist vascular care. Tragically, she died days later as a result of being wrongly given penicillin while at the Durham hospital.
The Trust admitted “a number of errors and oversights affected the quality of care provided to Marianne” during her final days. Marianne’s son David said watching his mother die had left him traumatised.
He said: “I can still hear her screams when they were trying to insert the catheter, that will stay with me forever – only for one of the nurses to come out from behind the curtain and start high fiving her mate.
“Is that the way they would want their own mam to be treated? For someone so lovely to be treated in this way, it makes you realise it could happen to anyone and that’s why we want to speak out, so this doesn’t happen to another family.
“This has left us absolutely broken, and our kids have really struggled. While the Trust has apologised and said they will learn from what happened, talk is cheap.
“Me and Catherine have been left on the floor by this, and we want to see things change.”
Marianne had two children and four grandchildren(Image: Slater and Gordon / SWNS)
The family’s solicitor, John Lowther, of Slater and Gordon, said: “The standard of care Marianne received from the University Hospital of North Durham was woeful.
“From being given the wrong medication and delays in acting with regard to a life-threatening condition, through to poor communication and a total lack of compassion, Marianne has been utterly failed here.”
A spokesperson of the County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust said: “We offer our sincere condolences to the family of Marianne Mortemore on their loss.
“We recognise the concerns that have been raised and treat matters of this nature with the utmost seriousness.
“We remain committed to identifying and acting on any learning as appropriate.”