A much-loved woman was left dying in an A&E corridor for more than an hour as hospital staff believed her to be 'overreacting' and set her up with an oxygen mask that was not attached to anything, an inquest has heard.
Clarissa Street, 24, was initially dismissed by nurses at Royal Oldham Hospital who thought her condition was not as serious as it eventually proved to be, as she lay suffering a fatal pulmonary embolism. The much-loved graduate, described by her family as creative, bright and full of life, tragically died on August 14, 2024.
A three-day inquest into her death opened on Wednesday (May 6), which heard how Clarissa, a high-achieving University of Manchester sociology graduate who had earned the prestigious Dean's Award for her dissertation, had been rushed to A&E on the night of August 13 after suffering severe dizziness and feeling increasingly unwell.
She had previously suffered a provoked pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis in 2017, and had been prescribed blood-thinning medication intermittently in the years that followed, the inquest was told. But upon her arrival at the Royal Oldham Hospital, Clarissa was handed an oxygen mask that was not connected to any supply 'to try and regulate her breathing' and was left in a corridor for around an hour before being moved to higher care.
The hearing was told how a paramedic had suggested that they thought Clarissa was 'overreacting and having a panic attack' when she was passed over to triage staff. Tragically, her condition deteriorated, and she died hours later due to pulmonary embolism with a background of fatty liver disease, the inquest was told.
Clarissa, from Castleton, in Rochdale, had been feeling unwell for the previous two days before her boyfriend called an ambulance on August 13 when she started passing out, the inquest heard. The sociology student had been unable to sleep and was struggling to keep food and water down for the days leading up to her hospital admission.
Staff Nurse Michelle Neale, the triage nurse working on the night of her death, asked for Clarissa to have an ECG, blood tests and venous blood gas tests. She said the ambulance had told her she was hyperventilating, but they had regulated her breathing by talking to her. The nurse 'didn't know' why she gave her a disconnected mask and accepted she should not have done it. She added that it 'did regulate her breathing' and that Clarissa was 'speaking in full sentences'.
Ms Neale then passed Clarissa to a more senior nurse and told her she would require a cubicle. However, Clarissa, who had low blood oxygen levels and a high heart rate, was then placed in a corridor for around an hour. The senior nurse had told Ms Neale that Clarissa was 'young so we'll just keep an eye on her' when she was put on fluids and left in the corridor, the Staff Nurse told the court.
'Normally, I would challenge it but Clarissa was talking to me. She could speak to me in full sentences,' Ms Neale said. 'I remember her coming in. She was able to talk to me and she told me that she had been on holiday to the Canary Islands. I went back to Clarissa on the corridor and I asked her had [the oxygen mask] helped her and she said yes.'
She added a more senior nurse said they would give Clarissa some fluids and then reassess her with the view of sending her to an urgent treatment centre. However, Clarissa was eventually taken to higher care to be treated by a doctor before deteriorating and sadly passing away in the early hours of August 14.
The inquest heard how, based on national guidelines, there was no need for her to be referred to haematology in 2017 at the time of her pulmonary embolism and no need for anticoagulants drugs to be used long term due to her embolism being provoked. It was accepted that in hindsight a haematology referral and further tests might have helped Clarissa and may have revealed an underlying contributing factor. However, the inquest heard her embolism in 2024 was unprovoked and it 'cannot be said that the two are linked'.
The inquest began on Wednesday, May 6, at Rochdale Coroner's Court and is scheduled to last for three days, finishing on Friday, May 8.
