‘Doctors let her down’: Parents of model, 20, who died after burst appendix led to sepsis blast medics at inquest
- Chloe Rideout, 20, died at Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro in October 2018
- She died from multi-organ failure due to sepsis and a perforated appendix
- Her mother told a coroner that Chloe was ‘let down’ by healthcare professionals
The parents of a 20-year-old model who died after a burst appendix led to sepsis have blasted medics during an inquest into her death.
Chloe Rideout, who died at the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro in October 2018, was ‘let down’ by healthcare professionals, according to her mother.
Sharon Rideout told a coroner that she raised a number of concerns about the care daughter Chloe received at Plymouth’s Derriford Hospital, the 111 out of hours GP service, the 999 ambulance response and at the Royal Cornwall Hospital.
An inquest heard that the post mortem concluded that Chloe died from multi-organ failure due to sepsis and a perforated appendix post-operatively.
Chloe Rideout, 20, (pictured) died from sepsis after a routine appendix operation, an inquest has heard
Trainee hairdresser Chloe was described as a ‘lovely person, a fit and well young lady’ who worked at various jobs to save to go travelling the world.
Chloe had enjoyed a weekend staying with friends but later felt unwell with a ‘belly ache’ before she was taken to A&E at Derriford Hospital where she lay on the floor in agony, her mother said.
Five hours later she was admitted to a ward and the next day Chloe said she ‘did not feel safe in hospital’.
The inquest heard how she feared her drink over the weekend away may have been spiked but no tests were carried out to screen for any potential drugs.
Doctors, who the family said were blasé, told Chloe a week after she initially felt unwell that she may have appendicitis.
Mrs Rideout claimed she had concerns over delays in surgery and ‘sepsis was never mentioned during her treatment’.
The family said that by October 12 the ‘doctors just wanted to send her home as quickly as possible’ but the next day Chloe was still in so much pain that she said ‘she felt like she was going to die’.
Chloe, who died at the Royal Cornwall Hospital (pictured) in Truro in October 2018, was ‘let down’ by healthcare professionals, according to her mother
She was discharged and the next day her mother called the 111 our of doctors service – but a nurse went to their home, rather than a doctor, which Mrs Rideout did not realise at the time.
Mrs Rideout said ten minutes after the nurse left she was so concerned that she called 999 – but after three emergency calls it took an ambulance 90 minutes to arrive to take Chloe to the Royal Cornwall Hospital.
She said Chloe felt unsafe there and claimed there was an ‘incompetent nurse who did not want to be doing her job’.
It was there that Chloe was operated on several times but her kidneys began failing and her brain became starved of oxygen and blood before she died on October 20.
Mother-of-two Mrs Rideout said: ‘At no point was sepsis mentioned. This was the cause of her not recovering from surgery, becoming critically ill and dying.’
The family said Chloe had been robbed of her life and blame health professionals for ‘letting her down’ at various stages during her treatment that month.
The inquest is due to last for the rest of this week.