A WIDOW from near York has received an apology from Harrogate Hospital over “failures” which led to the death of husband.

Debra Cartwright, 49, is still waiting for an inquest into the death, three years ago, of her husband and the father of the couple’s 13-year-old son, Josh.

Tony Cartwright was taken to Harrogate Hospital suffering from a rare throat complaint which was causing severe breathing difficulties.

Doctors there made the decision to transfer the 39-year-old to York.

But his condition rapidly worsened, and it is understood he stopped breathing for four minutes before the ambulance had left Harrogate Hospital, leaving him with severe brain damage. He died 33 days later.

Mrs Cartwright said she had many questions about what had happened to her husband at the hospital, and she remained determined to find out what had led to his death.

The hospital has subsequently paid Mrs Cartwright and her son damages.

Medical director Carl Gray has repeated its apologies to the family.

He said: “We would like to express our profound condolences to Mr Cartwright’s family on his tragic death and repeat our apology to them for the failures that occurred in his care.

“Two members of staff were reported to the General Medical Council, who carefully examined the case and concluded their investigations without talking any further action.”

He said the tragedy had seen the hospital implement a “number of actions” which had been reported to the coroner and that they would now await the results of the inquest.

It is understood that the there had been a failure to diagnose Mr Cartwright as suffering from epiglottitis, a condition which leads to unpredictable narrowing of the airways.

The doctors failed to ensure his airways were secure before transferring him for specialist care in York. This was against both national and hospital guidelines.

The case was the subject of an investigation by North Yorkshire Police, but the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to proceed further with it.