Paramedics 'failed to take condition of mum seriously' before she died at her Wolverhampton home
The family of a young mother found dead at her Wolverhampton home have accused paramedics of failing to take her condition seriously enough when they were called out hours before.
Lauren Page Smith was discovered lying on the floor with her two-year-old daughter on her chest on January 6 this year.
The 29-year-old had earlier been reassured by paramedics sent to help her after she complained of chest pains and vomiting.
But Lauren's mother Emma Carrington said her devastated family were concerned that paramedics from West Midlands Ambulance Service had misinterpreted Lauren’s ECG readings and reassured her she was fine.
She said: “There are simply no words to describe how we feel as a family. Through no fault of her own my daughter does not have a future and my granddaughter will grow up never knowing her mother.
“Lauren had her whole life in front of her and that has been taken away. We believe that because of her age and the fact that she was calm the paramedics did not think she could be as ill as she was and she did not get the care she needed.”
An inquest into the circumstances surrounding Lauren’s death will be held at the Black Country Coroner’s Court on November 1.
Lauren’s family are now being supported by solicitors at FBC Manby Bowdler.
The law firm said a West Midlands Ambulance Service investigation found that the clinicians felt ‘falsely reassured’ that Lauren’s condition was ‘not overly concerning’ because of her age and that she appeared well, and that her calm demeanour meant that the clinicians did not believe the pain score she provided.
The report concluded that the way Lauren’s case was handled on the first attendance was not appropriate, the discharge was not safe or appropriate and that the clinicians ‘conveyed incomplete information to the 111 service about Lauren’s condition'.
A post-mortem examination showed that Lauren died because of a sudden heart attack following a blood clot in the lung.
The law firm said according to the pathologist, such a clot can cause an abnormal cardiac rhythm which can go on to be fatal.
Lauren’s clinical negligence associate, Michael Portman-Hann said: “Lauren called 111 for advice because she had chest pain and vomiting, and an ambulance was sent out to her. The paramedics performed brief assessments, but it seems they misinterpreted her ECG results due to a lack of training, and wrongly reassured her that she was fine.
“She was offered transfer to hospital, but as she was told the wait would be more than four hours and she would just be observed and sent home again, she decided not to go.
“Sadly, she died just a few hours later, leaving behind her distraught family and her two-year-old daughter, who will now grow up without her mum.
"This has been a heartbreaking tragedy for Lauren’s family and they naturally want to understand how events unfolded in this way.
“We hope that the inquest will bring some of those answers and help ensure that appropriate lessons are learned so that other families do not have to go through anything like this in the future.”
A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: “We would like to apologise to the family of Lauren Smith after what must have been an extremely difficult period.
“The Trust carried out a full investigation into what happened to see what learning could be taken from such a tragic case. We are determined to do everything possible to try and stop something like this ever happening again.
“The review made a number of recommendations which have been implemented, including providing additional learning to our clinicians about recognising acute coronary syndrome (ACS), particularly in women.
“We hope that the inquest will answer all of the questions that the family have about this case.”
