Mum died in ambulance on way to hospital after doctor said she was ‘fine’

A grieving daughter has slammed the NHS after her mum was discharged from hospital only to die a few hours later.

Jean Hutchinson, 79, died in an ambulance on her way back to the hospital she had been sent home from after suffering from pneumonia.

Her daughter, Debra Parker, claims a doctor at James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, told her ‘not to worry, everything will be fine’, just hours before her death.

Debra, 58, called paramedics after her condition deteriorated when she got home, but it took over an hour for the ambulance to arrive.

A year on, Debra has spoken out about the ‘horrendous’ chain of events that led to her mum’s death on June 6, 2018.

‘Mum walked into hospital and came out with two zimmer frames and hardly able to walk,’ she said.

‘I rang the ambulance four times and it was 61 minutes before they arrived.

‘They were doing CPR in the ambulance. I was there and it was obvious she had died before we reached the hospital, in fact before we had even left home.’

North East Ambulance Service later apologised to Debra, stating the 61-minute delay was ‘unacceptable’.

But South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which includes James Cook, maintains that Jean had ‘significantly improved’ and insisted she had been ‘well enough’ to be discharged home.

Debra said: ‘I feel my mum was let down by James Cook Hospital and by North East Ambulance Service which led to a horrendous outcome.

‘I know everyone is stretched. I will never know whether this could have been avoided.

‘But I don’t want my mum to be a quiet statistic.’

Jean left behind her husband Maurice, 89, daughter Debra and grandchildren Dean and Liam.

A North East Ambulance spokesman apologised for the ‘unacceptable delay’.

They added: ‘Since this incident occurred, we have agreed significant investment in our service to recruit an additional 106 paramedics and a further 90 clinical care assistants.’