Mum died after suffering weeks of unexplained pain

A‘KIND’ mum-of-three from the Black Country died on holiday after being struck down with mystery pain for weeks, an inquest has heard.

Lucy Broome, pictured below, had been suffering from pain, weight loss and dehydration in the lead-up to her tragic death.

She was on holiday with her family in Blackpool when she suddenly collapsed and had to be rushed to hospital. But the 36-year-old, from Walsall, was seen by a nurse and a doctor in the back of an ambulance due to a lack of critical care beds.

Her condition was so serious she had to be transferred to a Covid isolation unit – where all of its four beds were full – just so medics could hook her up to a ventilator.

An inquest held this week heard how the office manager remained ‘agitated’ in hospital and even ripped one of her cannulas out.

Hospital staff administered maximum glucose in an attempt to combat her low blood sugar but the levels were not enough to tackle her symptoms and her treatment at Blackpool Victoria Hospital was stopped.

She died in the early hours of October 28, the inquest heard.

Ms Broome was described as ‘kind, caring and witty’ and someone ‘who would do anything for her family.’

A post-mortem gave a cause of death of acute pancreatitis. Gallstones not spotted on a CT scan may have contributed to her death. An inquest in Blackpool heard Ms Broome had been suffering with chronic pain in the weeks leading up to her death. She had seen medics at the emergency department at New Cross Hospital, in Wolverhampton, but no answers were found. But results of further tests were not shared with her consultant for a fortnight, the court heard.

Victoria Davies, assistant coroner for Blackpool, said it led to a delay in her being referred to gastroenterology but there was no evidence it caused or contributed to her death.

Ms Broome had then decided to go on a family trip to Blackpool. But she began suffering with agonising pain and was struggling to speak during a hypoglycaemic episode on October 27.

Paramedics said she was mumbling, agitated, and struggling to breathe. Glucose treatment initially improved her condition but it soon deteriorated.

She was initially taken to Covid isolation unit due to lack of beds but doctors were unable to save her. Family members at the hearing were given an apology over delays in performing a CT scan and in referring her case to a gastroenterologist. Ms Davies said: “We can’t say earlier gastroenterology referral would have saved as there is no evidence how long their waiting list was or what they would have done.”

Ms Davies recorded a medical cause of death of pancreatitis and a conclusion of natural causes.