Tanya McCartney, a 25-year-old trainee mental health nurse and mother from Derbyshire, died from undiagnosed pneumonia less than 24 hours after hospital staff gave her the option to return home rather than remain for observation, according to findings from an inquest at Chesterfield Coroners’ Court reported by Derbyshire Live. Assistant coroner for Derby and Derbyshire Anita Davies concluded that the death of the young mother should have been prevented.
Timeline of the Chesterfield Royal Infirmary A&E Visit
On May 18, 2023, Tanya McCartney visited the emergency department at Chesterfield Royal Infirmary presenting with a high temperature, shortness of breath, and a painful throat. According to reports from Derbyshire Live, she initially suspected she had caught a common cold from her 11-month-old son, Marcus, but sought medical evaluation after her general practitioner advised her to go to the hospital.
Medical staff evaluated the patient and noted that her vital signs three hours prior to discharge were significantly outside normal ranges, showing a very high heart rate and a soaring temperature that merited further monitoring. Rather than admitting her for observation and a course of intravenous antibiotics, hospital personnel offered her a choice between hospital admission and returning home, prescribing oral antibiotics instead. Upon leaving, McCartney told her mother, Natasha, that the hospital trip was a “waste of time.”
Coroner’s Verdict and Hospital Liability
The following day, McCartney collapsed on her sofa at home. Despite resuscitation attempts by attending paramedics, she died. During the inquest, assistant coroner for Derby and Derbyshire Anita Davies delivered a narrative verdict stating that failures in care contributed to the death.
“Had Tanya been admitted on the 18th of May and given appropriate intravenous antibiotics, it is more likely than not that she would have survived,” Anita Davies stated during the hearing, according to Derbyshire Live. The coroner added that the decision to discharge her rather than admit her for further clinical observation contributed to the fatal outcome.
Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust accepted responsibility for the clinical failings. Representatives for the Trust acknowledged that given the clinical picture presented at A&E, staff should have admitted McCartney for observations and intravenous antibiotic treatment, which would have likely led to a recovery.
Family Response and Ongoing Impact
The Trust issued a formal apology to the family following the inquest conclusions.
“We welcome the verdict today, which finally puts into official words what our family has known since the terrible day Tanya was taken from us,” Natasha told reporters, as cited by Derbyshire Live. “Getting to this point has been an exhausting, painful battle. From the beginning, our family struggled to understand how Tanya could go to the hospital desperately unwell and then die the very next day.”