A 28-year-old student nurse tragically died of sepsis on Christmas Eve after enduring a 12-hour wait in A&E at the hospital where she worked, an inquest has heard.
Zoe Bell, from High Wycombe, had finished a weekend of long shifts before arriving at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Buckinghamshire on December 23, 2022, complaining of breathing difficulties.
Bell had been taking on extra shifts at hospitals across the county to help fund the final stage of her studies – while her boyfriend, Phillip Ayres, told Beaconsfield Coroners Court that it was “not uncommon for her to be run down after a weekend of long shifts”.
The inquest heard that A&E at Stoke Mandeville had been particularly busy due to a high volume of flu cases, Covid, and children with Strep-B.
Bell’s condition rapidly deteriorated after arriving at the hospital, the inquest heard
Bell’s condition rapidly deteriorated after arriving at the hospital. Ayres described how she began suffering severe chest pain about an hour and a half after their 10pm arrival.
Despite nurses checking Bell and finding her oxygen levels to be normal, her condition worsened.
By 4:30am, she was still in the waiting area, experiencing “agonising” chest, back and shoulder pain.
Ayres told the court: “Zoe coughed up a small amount of blood in a sick bowl. A nurse took all the same tests again. The nurse was convinced the blood was caused by Zoe’s constant coughing.”
He added: “Because Zoe was a nurse and she understood the staff were overwhelmed, I felt I had to be polite.”
At around 4 or 5am, Ayres “kicked up a bit of a fuss”, ensuring Bell was seen by a doctor who suspected laryngitis.
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“Zoe was a nurse and she understood the staff were overwhelmed,” her boyfriend said
The couple were sent back to the waiting area, where Bell became panicked and started hyperventilating.
“By this point, Zoe had enough,” Ayres said. “She had got to a point where she wanted to go home. She was exhausted. She felt like there was no help coming.”
At 10am on Christmas Eve, Bell was finally taken into a part of A&E for a ward assessment. She became distressed, confused and disorientated, prompting staff to pull an emergency alarm.
Ayres continued: “She was finally being seen and treated. She was so relieved to be finally getting help, she was so thankful and grateful.”
Bell began suffering severe chest pain about an hour and a half after her 10pm arrival at Stoke Mandeville
PA
But Bell’s condition continued to deteriorate, and she was rushed into ICU at 12.30pm. Tragically, she died that same evening from heart failure.
A post-mortem examination revealed the cause of death as staphylococcal septicaemia (sepsis), bronchopneumonia, an acute lung injury resulting from influenza, and a viral infection.
Ayres told the Buckinghamshire coroner that Bell had always understood the NHS’s struggles and dreamed of improving it.
“It seems that the very thing she worked so hard towards was the very thing that let her down,” he said.
“Her death is a loss to the NHS for her kindness and compassion and sheer determination.”
The inquest into Bell’s death continues.
