Disabled woman died of neglect at Royal Preston Hospital after sitting in chair for 39 hours in A&E

Giving his conclusion at an inquest on September 27 at Preston Coroner’s Court, senior coroner Dr James Adeley said that the care of Marina Young, 46, was characterised by gross failure to provide appropriate assessment, medical care and escalation to an Intensive Therapy Unit (ITU).

Dr Adeley has also announced that he will be completing a Regulation 28 Prevention of Future Death Report because of the lack of action taken by the Trust in the two years since Marina’s death.

“Marina’s voice has been heard”

Michelle Young, 47, Marina’s sister and a former hospital ward sister, had to sit through two days of harrowing evidence about her sister’s final hours in the inquest. She said: “I feel Marina’s voice has been heard and that it has been recognised that her life did matter.

“Our dad never recovered from Marina’s death and did not live to see the coroner’s ruling, but he would have been relieved to know that justice has been done. All we have ever wanted is to protect other patients and even saving one life would make the pain we have been through worthwhile. That’s what Marina and my dad would have wanted and it brings me closure to know that has been achieved.”

What happened?

Marina, of Ribbleton, had spina bifida, which limited her mobility, although she lived independently, could walk short distances, and would see her family every day. Marina, who was the first baby in the UK to have a bladder transplant, also had to use daily catheters to empty her bladder due to the impact of her spina bifida.

She had been diagnosed with asthma as a child, but this was well controlled up until the severe episode that led to her being taken to the Royal Preston Hospital on June 20, 2022. Marina had driven herself the short distance to her sister Michelle Young’s house, at 7pm, which was an unusual time for Marina to be out and about.

Michelle found Marina to be having an asthma attack and very short of breath. Michelle, who is a retired hospital ward sister, drove Marina to hospital, where she gave a full hand over of her medical history, including her continence needs and her reliance on catheters. Michelle was unable to stay at the hospital with Marina due to the Covid restrictions that were in place at the time, however she was in regular contact with her via text message.

On the evening of June 21, Marina texted Michelle to say she had been told she might need to be moved to intensive care. At 10am on June 22, Michelle returned to the A&E department to drop items off for Marina, only to be told that she had died. When Michelle went to see Marina, she found that she still had her clothes and shoes on and smelt strongly of urine.

Legal action

Madeleine Langmead, a solicitor specialising in medical negligence at law firm JMW represented Michelle through the inquest and will now be helping her to take further legal action. She said: “We are grateful to the coroner for his careful investigation into Marina’s care and for reaching this conclusion, which we feel is the only one that could have been made. Marina’s case is likely to have implications for the treatment of other vulnerable patients, particularly those suffering an asthma attack and should improve their patient safety.”

An internal investigation by the Royal Preston Hospital had already identified numerous failures in the treatment of Marina’s asthma attack.

What does the hospital trust say?

A Lancashire Teaching Hospitals spokesperson said: “The Trust would like to offer its sincere condolences to the family and friends of Marina Young and apologise for the failings identified in our own investigation and the Coroner’s report. We welcome the independent scrutiny of the Coroner and are committed to the further actions and learning identified in the inquest.”