Swine flu woman died after medics refused 3 times to take her to hospital

 
Michael Howie4 December 2012

A swine flu victim died after paramedics claimed her condition was not life-threatening and refused to take her to hospital three times in one night, an inquest heard.

Londoner Niyousha Haki, 28, begged to be taken to A&E after suffering from a “grossly abnormal” temperature and elevated heart rate when she contracted the virus at the height of the swine flu outbreak in 2010.

Ms Haki was staying at her step-father’s house in Hall Green, Birmingham, when distressed relatives dialled 999. The inquest heard the first emergency call was made at about 11pm on December 14 by Ms Haki’s uncle.

A paramedic team rushed out to see her but advised Ms Haki to stay at home — as per NHS guidelines — because her condition was not considered life-threatening. A second team attended at around 1am the following morning, and a third was called at 4.40am. A day later Ms Haki was rushed from a local medical centre to Solihull Hospital, where she suffered a cardiac arrest.

Both crews agreed with the first team’s assessment and advised her to stay home.

First responder Robert Jefferson told the inquest at Sutton Coldfield town hall: “The standard advice was that swine flu patients should not be conveyed to hospital unless they were high risk.

“The patient was not showing signs of concern; her chest was clear and she appeared to be breathing normally, there was no evidence of pneumonia and apart from the flu she appeared to be well within herself.”

Claire McArdle, who attended the second call-out, also told the hearing she had no major concerns: “Although she had symptoms which were abnormal they didn’t appear to be life threatening. She had an appearance of edginess, she was anxious. There were no other signs of respiratory distress.” Paramedics were under guidance not to take flu cases to hospital unless they were suffering life-threatening symptoms or had underlying conditions.

A pathology report revealed Ms Haki died from pneumonia, with swine flu listed as a secondary cause.

A verdict is due on Friday.

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