Wolverhampton mum died hours after paramedics said she was fine
Lauren Smith was found dead at her home, with her toddler trying to wake her.
A young mum from Wolverhampton was found dead at her home with her two-year-old trying to wake her, just hours after paramedics had reassured her she was fine.
Lauren Page Smith was found lying on the floor with her daughter on her chest by her mother on January 6 this year.
The 29-year-old's family said she had earlier been reassured by paramedics sent to help her, after complaining of chest pains and vomiting.
Her mother Emma Carrington said the family was devastated by the tragedy and believed paramedics had failed to take her daughter’s condition seriously enough.
“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.”
Michael Portman-Hann from FBC Manby Bowdler solicitors, who are representing Lauren's family, said they were concerned that paramedics from West Midlands Ambulance Service had misinterpreted Lauren’s ECG readings and reassured her she was fine, instead of taking her to hospital.
He 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.”
A post-mortem examination showed that Lauren died because of a sudden heart attack following a blood clot in the lung. According to the pathologist, such a clot can cause an abnormal cardiac rhythm which can go on to be fatal.
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.”
An inquest into the circumstances surrounding Lauren’s death will be held next week.
Michael added: “This has been a heart-breaking 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."