Inga Rublite Timeline: Events Leading Up to Woman’s Death in Emergency Room
Inga Rublite was on a break from work when she suddenly developed a headache. Less than 24 hours later, she lay dying on the floor of a crowded A&E waiting room under a coat, hidden in plain sight. The chain of events leading up to her death highlights an NHS under pressure and the risk of patients slipping through the cracks.
January 19: 12:00 noon
Rublite is on a video call with her twin sister, Inese Briede, who lives in their native Latvia, when she is suddenly struck by a headache that she compares to “being hit by a brick.” She is finishing her shift at the Nottingham warehouse distributing uniforms before heading to her nearby home and sleeping for about five hours.
8:53 p.m.
After telling her sister she still doesn’t feel well, Rublite calls 911 for advice. She reports severe headaches, neck and jaw pain, high blood pressure and blurred vision during the minute-long call. She is told someone will call her back with more information.
9:45 p.m.
A clinician calls Rublite back and she reports the same symptoms. After the 11-minute call, she is advised to go to the ER. She calls an ambulance but is told she will have to wait for hours, so she contacts her neighbor and friend, Rasa Balzonyt, who drives her there.
10:39 p.m.
Rublite arrives at the Queen’s Medical Centre (QMC) A&E with her friend and is assessed by a nurse during a three-minute assessment. The department is overcrowded and has staffing issues. There is no senior doctor available to assess Rublite’s case as they have been diverted to treat patients being taken from ambulances queuing outside. She is told to sit in the waiting room for further assessment and no CT scan is requested.
January 20: 02:07 AM
Rublite was supposed to have observations done around 1am, but because of the crowded waiting room (there were 61 patients waiting for treatment that night) this is not done until after 2am. She reports that her pain is severe, compared to mild when she arrived, and her heart rate has increased. By this time her friend has already gone home, so Rublite is alone.
04.30 am
Rublite’s name is called by the staff, probably for further observations. She does not respond.
05.26 am
Her name is called again by the staff in the waiting room. She does not respond.
06.50 am
Rublite’s name is called again by the staff in the waiting room, and when she doesn’t respond for the third time, they call her cell phone (although Briede has since claimed that there is no missed call on her sister’s phone from this time). When the staff still can’t find her, she is released from the hospital system and is assumed to have gone home.
07:00 am
Staff arriving at the Emergency Department for the morning shift discover Rublite lying on the floor in front of a chair with a coat over her face. She is unresponsive, has been vomiting and has recently had a seizure. She is taken to the resuscitation unit where it is discovered that she has suffered a brain haemorrhage and she is prepared for surgery.
12.00
Rublite’s family is told that her condition has deteriorated to the point that she cannot undergo surgery. The bleeding in her brain is too severe and it is unlikely she will survive, they are told.
January 22 – 10:24 am
Brainstem tests on Rublite show that her brain has suffered irreversible damage that is not survivable. She is pronounced dead.