A RETIRED nurse has raised concerns over care at Basildon Hospital after she was given a large dose of penicillin – despite being allergic to the drug.

Margaret Sealy, 62, told medics on two separate occasions she couldn’t take the drug. Her allergic status was also on her notes.

But she was still given antibiotics containing penicillin by mistake, after being admitted to the hospital for a severe urinary tract infection.

Grandmother-of-two Mrs Sealy has been allergic to penicillin since her twenties, when she developed a severe rash after taking it.

She said: “Ever since then, I’ve had it written on my medical notes that I am allergic and I shouldn’t be given penicillin.”

Mrs Sealy, of Broomfields Court, Pitsea, was given the drug intravenously after she was admitted to the hospital’s medical assessment unit on February 21. She spent four days there recovering from the infection.

She said: “I gradually got better, and on my final day in hospital the registrar came round and kept questioning me about my penicillin allergy.

“In the end I said, ‘Why are you asking? Why is it so important?’.

“He then admitted I had been given penicillin by mistake.

“I questioned how this could have happened, but he kept saying it was an error and assuring me that I was OK, as I hadn’t had a bad reaction.”

People who are allergic to penicillin can experience rashes, hives, itchy eyes and swollen lips.

In the most serious cases, they can go into anaphylactic shock, a sudden catastrophic allergic reaction in which the body swells up and blood pressure drops to a dangerously low level. It can result in death.

Mrs Sealy added: “I am concerned I could have died. How many times has this happened and it hasn’t been reported?

“I used to work at Basildon Hospital as a nurse. I have a lot of respect for the doctors and nurses, but this was a basic mistake that should not have been made.

“I was OK this time, but next time I, or maybe someone else, might not be as lucky.”

Nicola Laver, spokeswoman for Basildon Hospital, said: “We do not make detailed comments on individual patients. However, we have apologised to Mrs Sealy for any worry or upset caused. She knows we are investigating.”