An investigation has commenced regarding the circumstances at a British residence where a mother and her daughter lost their lives, despite having previously requested an ambulance.
In May of the previous year, Alphonsine Djiako Leuga, 47, and her daughter, Loraine Choulla, 18, were discovered deceased in their Nottinghamshire home.
Tragically, the investigation uncovered that the mother had reached out to emergency services but did not receive the ambulance she requested.
Representatives from Nottingham Police, the Nottinghamshire Coroner’s Service, and the East Midlands Ambulance Service provided testimony in court about the case, revealing their findings from the recent inquiry.
The proceedings commenced on July 21, and during the inquest, Detective Con Jack Cook from Nottinghamshire Police indicated that authorities now suspect Alphonsine passed away shortly after making the emergency call.
Further investigations indicated that Loraine, who lived with Down’s syndrome and learning difficulties and was ‘entirely dependent’ on her mother, survived until February 28.
Alphonsine’s call to emergency services was made on February 2, during which she successfully provided her address and requested an ambulance before the call was disconnected.
However, the call was mistakenly marked as an ‘abandoned call’.
Detective Cook explained: “Loraine had been left in the premises alone and had been alive until her device had lost charge.”
It is believed by authorities that Loraine passed away before reaching her 18th birthday in April.
Alphonsine had her own health challenges, including sickle cell anemia. She died from ‘pneumonia of uncertain cause’, while her daughter’s cause of death remains ‘unascertained’.
During the hearing, pathologist Dr. Stuart Hamilton was questioned about whether the child’s death could be attributed to dehydration or malnutrition. He stated: “There is nothing in my findings that say any of that is incorrect.”
Concerning the ambulance that was not dispatched, the head of patient safety at the East Midlands Ambulance Service, Susan Jevons, addressed the issue during the inquest.
She noted that the dispatcher had made several attempts to reconnect with Alphonsine after the call was cut off.
Jevons stated: “The ambulance didn’t go to the address because the emergency medical adviser, thinking it was an abandoned call, closed the call down.”
She went on to express apologies for ‘all of the errors’ committed by the service.
Jevons emphasized that the failure to dispatch an ambulance should ‘never have happened’.