Mother was found dead at home with her two-year-old daughter trying to wake her up – hours after paramedics gave her the all clear, family claim
A young mother was found dead in her home hours after paramedics gave her the all-clear, her family have revealed.
Lauren Page Smith, 29, was found by her mother in her Wolverhampton home in January, lying on the floor with her two-year-old daughter on her chest. The toddler had tried to wake her up.
Lauren’s family claims she had complained of chest pain and vomiting. Her mother Emma Carrington believes paramedics failed to take her daughter’s worrying condition seriously.
“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 they were, and she did not receive the care she needed,” she told The Times.
‘There are simply no words to describe how we feel as a family. Through no fault of her own, my daughter has no future and my granddaughter will grow up without knowing her mother.”
Lauren Page Smith (pictured), 29, was found by her mother in her Wolverhampton home in January, lying on the floor with her two-year-old daughter on her chest
Pictured: Lauren with her two-year-old daughter before her death. Her mother said: ‘Lauren had her whole life ahead of her’
She added: ‘Lauren had her whole life ahead of her and it was taken away from her.’
An autopsy revealed that Smith died of a sudden heart attack following a blood clot in her lung. An inquest will take place at the Black Country Coroners’ Court on November 1.
Law firm FBC Manby Bowdler, who are representing the Smith family, said they were concerned that paramedics from the West Midlands Ambulance Service misinterpreted Lauren’s ECG readings and told her she was fine rather than taking her to hospital to take.
The ambulance service’s investigation found that doctors felt ‘falsely reassured’ that Lauren’s condition was ‘not too worrying’ due to her old age and that she seemed to be doing well.
Her calm demeanor caused medical staff to disbelieve the pain score she gave them, the report found.
A spokesperson for West Midlands Ambulance Service said: ‘We would like to apologize to the family of Lauren Smith after what must have been an extremely difficult time.
‘The Trust has carried out a full investigation into what happened to see what lessons can be learned from such a tragic case. We are determined to do everything possible to prevent something like this from ever happening again.
Law firm FBC Manby Bowdler, who are representing the Smith family, said they were concerned that paramedics from the West Midlands Ambulance Service misinterpreted Lauren’s ECG readings and told her she was fine rather than taking her to hospital to take. (File image)
‘The review made a number of recommendations which have been implemented, including providing additional education to our doctors on how to recognize acute coronary syndrome (ACS), especially in women.
‘We hope that the inquest will answer any questions the family may have about this case.’
Earlier this year it was revealed that a diabetic woman died after waiting more than 16 hours for the West Midlands Ambulance Service, despite needing an ambulance within 18 minutes.
Earlier this month, a patient was reportedly declared dead by paramedics, but ‘woke up’ in hospital just hours later. The North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) has apologized and launched an investigation.