A JUNIOR doctor at a Liverpool hospital could face criminal charges after an elderly woman died when she was given an injection by mistake. Clare Dobson, 71, of Markfield Crescent, Halewood, died after potassium chloride - the drug used to execute prisoners on death row - was injected straight into her blood stream instead of through a drip. The female medic, who has not been named, has been interviewed by detectives over the blunder. The university graduate had been working at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital for just six weeks when the mistake happened. Ms Dobson, a retired cleaner, was recovering from an operation to remove parts of her pancreas but suffered cardiac arrest after the injection. Doctors tried to resuscitate the pensioner but she suffered brain damage and died in intensive care on October 1 last year. Bosses at the Royal launched an internal investigation and ordered the junior doctor not to deal directly with patients. She was not suspended but has since gone through a period of re-training. Liverpool coroner Andre Rebello said no date had been set for the inquest into Ms Dobson's death because it was the subject of a criminal investigation. He said: "The circumstances of her death are being investigated by the police and the matter is with the Crown Prosecution Service. "As yet the CPS have yet to make a decision on whether criminal proceedings should be taken with regard to the events surrounding this death." A spokeswoman for Merseyside police confirmed they had been called in to investigate. She said: "A police investigation has been taken place in relation to the death of a 71-year-old woman at the Royal, following a Home Office post-mortem. "A file has now been passed to the CPS and we are awaiting their decision." | 
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