NHS apology over death of woman
An ambulance service has apologised for the death of a woman after a paramedic told her to take paracetamol for chest pains.
Carol Wilson’s husband Peter called 111 after she had been suffering chest pains for a few days, as well as severe throat and ear pain, and pain on breathing.
AN AMBULANCE service has apologised for the death of a woman after a paramedic told her to take paracetamol for chest pains.
Carol Wilson’s husband Peter called 111 on New Year’s Day in 2015 after she had been suffering from chest pains for a few days, as well as severe throat and ear pain, and pain on breathing.
The 111 service sent a paramedic to the couple’s Sheffield home at around 7am but, rather than giving her a heart scan or taking her to hospital, they said she should take paracetamol.
Mrs Wilson, 70, who had three sons, died in her sleep two days later due to a heart condition.
Medical negligence lawyers at Irwin Mitchell investigated Mrs Wilson’s treatment and found the paramedic failed to carry out an ECG scan, which would have identified abnormalities that needed hospital treatment.
Lawyers argued if Mrs Wilson had been admitted to hospital, it is likely that pericarditis – a swelling of the fluid-filled sac surrounding the heart which causes chest and breathing pain – would have been picked up.
Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust has admitted that, on the balance of probabilities, Mrs Wilson’s death could have been prevented if she had been given an ECG and sent to hospital by the paramedic.
Retired HR director Mr Wilson, 72, said: “Since those three days at the start of 2015, my life has been turned upside down. We’d been married for over 40 years and I don’t think I will ever truly get over Carol’s death and I’m still devastated thinking about it now. Carol was an active, healthy woman who practised yoga on a daily basis, walked regularly and ate healthily. Her sudden illness was just such a shock.
“Nothing can turn back the clock but I just hope that the trust will learn the importance of investigating chest pain in the future.
“Carol was devoted to her family. She was proud of her sons and adored her young grandchildren who she thought she would see progress at school and beyond. She was cruelly denied that opportunity.”
Hayley Smith, a medical negligence lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, representing Mr Wilson, said: “After our investigation the NHS trust has admitted its mistakes and apologised for the substand-
After our investigation the NHS has admitted its mistakes. Hayley Smith, Irwin Mitchell lawyer.
ard care provided. Although paramedics do a difficult job and have to make split-second decisions, the symptoms and medical history in this case clearly show that more should have been done to diagnose Carol’s chest pain.”
Steve Page, executive director of quality, governance and performance assurance at Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust, said: “First and foremost our thoughts are with Carol Wilson’s family following their sad loss. We would like to apologise for the standard of care that was provided to Mrs Wilson.”
He said it was not reflective of the high-quality clinical care provided by the trust and actions have been taken to prevent such an occurrence in the future.