Woman dies after paramedics told her to stop 'faking' an allergic reaction to painkillers, hears inquest

Ambulance staff refused to give Beatrice Lovane a wheelchair after she collapsed and told her to 'behave'

The woman's mother said paramedics told her daughter to 'stop being funny', despite her eyes rolling back in her head (AFP/Getty Images)

A woman has died after being accused of “faking” an allergic reaction to painkillers, an inquest heard.

Ambulance staff refused to give Beatrice Lovane a wheelchair and told her to “behave”, according to the Manchester Evening News.

The 22-year-old became ill after taking co-codamol tablets for stomach pain but paramedics failed to intervene for a “prolonged period of time,” coroner Lisa Hashmi said.

She condemned the “gross failure to provide the most basic of care” and said paramedics’ attempts to resuscitate the young mother had been “perfunctory”.

The inquest heard Ms Lovane called an ambulance at 9:40pm on 26 August 2016.

Her mother, Maria, said paramedics were on site when she arrived at 11pm and her daughter was breathing rapidly with dilated pupils.

But the 55-year-old said paramedics told her daughter to “stop being funny”, despite her eyes rolling back in her head.

Post-mortem tests revealed the tablets had caused her to suffer organ failure due to an undiagnosed liver condition.

Coroner Hashmi said it was "extremely disappointing" that the North West Ambulance Service (NWSS) had not been more forthcoming about the failures.

Recording a narrative conclusion, she said it was not possible to say for certain the failure caused Ms Lovane's death.

However, she said she did not agree with the judgement that Ms Lovane had been playing up.

A spokesperson for NWAS expressed "sincere condolences" to Ms Lovane's family and said they fully accept the level of care offered was below standard.

“We did receive a complaint from the family in March 2017, and a full and thorough investigation was undertaken. We fully accept that the level of care Miss Lovane received was below the standard we would expect and did not uphold the trust’s values," the spokesperson said.

“New evidence was recently been disclosed and as a result of this, the staff involved have been suspended from duty pending further investigation.

“We would like to reassure the public that we have taken this matter extremely seriously and will co-operate fully with the regulators and authorities. We expect all our staff to uphold our values in terms of respect, dignity and compassion and anyone who doesn’t risks losing their position within the NWAS.”