Inquest to examine NHS ‘systemic and individual failings’ in run-up to teenager’s death

By Joe Gammie, Reporter4th November 2019News EnglandCare Standards, London, News England, NHS, Serious / Significant Case Review / Inquest

An inquest into the death of a teenager following a suspected allergic reaction will examine “systemic and individual failings” including the response by the NHS, lawyers have said.

Emma Turay said the death of her 18-year-old daughter Shante Turay-Thomas (pictured) in September last year had “left a hole in our family that we will never be able to fill”.

Lawyers for the family said that the inquest, which is due to start on Monday, will examine a number of alleged failings including the response by the NHS non-emergency 111 service.

Law firm Leigh Day said that Miss Turay-Thomas died following a suspected allergic reaction to an unknown food thought to have contained hazelnuts.

Her mother called NHS 111 on the night of September 14 after her daughter felt unwell, but Miss Turay-Thomas’s condition deteriorated and her Emerade adrenaline auto-injector pen (AAI) did not work, it added.

An ambulance was sent to a wrong address six miles away, and the one which did come took almost an hour, having initially been assigned a category 3 response of an urgent two-hour response time, the law firm added.

The teenager, from Haringey, north London, was eventually taken to hospital but died in the early hours of September 15.

In a statement Ms Turay, who now lives in Enfield, said: “Shante’s death has left a hole in our family that we will never be able to fill.

“We are devastated that we will not be able to see her grow from the amazing girl that she was into the accomplished adult that she was becoming.

“I hope that the inquest will help provide answers about how Shante died in the way she did.

“I can only hope that by highlighting the problems that Shante faced, action will be taken to ensure no other families have to suffer that same loss.”

The inquest at St Pancras Coroner’s Court will begin at 10am and is listed for three days.

Leigh Day said that the coroner is considering whether the inquest fulfils the criteria for an Article 2 inquest on the basis that the “state arguably breached Shante’s right to life as a result of alleged systemic failings”.