There has been an inquest into the death of Chanel Thompson who passed away following events at the A&E department of Barnet Hospital in London which has been widely linked to serious failings during her treatment in an NHS A&E department.
The inquest heard that the 37-year-old suffered cardiac arrest while in Accident & Emergency. At the time, she was not on a one-to-one observation, and staffing levels were said to be inadequate.
She later developed a brain injury from that cardiac arrest and then pneumonia, which was recorded as a cause of death.
The coroner’s inquest found that staff shortages and insufficient monitoring in the department played a part in what happened, meaning inadequate staffing may have influenced the quality of care she received.
This case has been used in wider discussions about pressures on NHS emergency departments, with some exhausted staff describing situations where patients were left on trolleys in corridors due to overcrowding and lack of available staff.
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