I made a mistake
What daughter of peer told doctors over a mystery headache... but mother blames her death aged 25 on wrong treatment
THE daughter of a Labour peer died after being misdiagnosed by doctors when she suffered an unexplained headache, her mother claimed yesterday.
Gaia Young, 25, the half-sister of writer and social commentator Toby Young, started ‘viciously vomiting’ after going on a bike ride and an ambulance took her to hospital, an inquest was told.
She was confused and told doctors ‘I’ve made a mistake’ in between falling asleep – causing medics to think wrongly she had taken drink or drugs on July 17. Miss Young, who was described by her mother as ‘clean living’, also appeared dehydrated and agitated and was seen rolling on a bed holding her stomach at University College Hospital in London.
She had no underlying health problems but was moved into intensive care and put on a ventilator 16 hours after being admitted with a headache.
Dr Zoe Veary said she thought Miss Young may be drunk. She told St Pancras Coroner’s Court: ‘When I asked if she had been drinking she said “Not enough”. She often made the comment: “I made a mistake”.’
Doctors later explored other possibilities such as heatstroke and dehydration, but her condition worsened. She eventually died on July 21 and her death has been treated as unexplained as a post-mortem examination was inconclusive.
The hospital has since launched a review. Her mother Lady Young yesterday hit out at the lack of answers and said doctors ‘misread signs’. She claimed her daughter was ‘completely misdiagnosed’. Lady Young, whose late husband Michael, drafted Labour’s 1945 manifesto, said: ‘I believe that with proper care she need not have died. I believe she lost the chance to live. How can it be that a previously healthy young woman dies in a hospital and yet nobody knows why?’
Lady Young said her daughter was ‘a responsible, polite, clean-living young woman with keen interest in her own health and in her intellectual and professional development’.
She added: ‘If anyone had asked me I would have told them, but it’s simply not possible that she would have been recreationally intoxicated.’
Her daughter suffered respiratory arrest which meant a procedure to diagnose her condition – a lumbar puncture – could not be completed.
Lady Young said she believed her condition was made worse by the attempted procedure and also complained she could not get into the hospital due to Covid restrictions.
Doctors believe Miss Young suffered a cerebral oedema – which leads to fluid in the brain, causing it to swell.
But the underlying cause of the swelling, – which medics said developed rapidly – remained unknown.
Dr Christian Hasford said he felt the cause could be related to toxins or inflammation, but ‘did not feel this was intoxication by alcohol or a conventional recreational drug’.
Dr Thomas Samuels acknowledged that ‘communication’ with family ‘would ideally have been better’.
However, he believed the right medical decisions were made. The inquest continues.
‘Not possible she was intoxicated’