A talented university graduate died after spending more than an hour in a hospital corridor where a nurse gave her an oxygen mask that was not connected to anything, an inquest has heard.
Incident Details
Clarissa Street, 24, from Castleton in Rochdale, suffered a pulmonary embolism and was taken to the Royal Oldham Hospital after experiencing dizziness and feeling unwell. The University of Manchester graduate, who studied Sociology and earned the Dean's Award for her dissertation, tragically died just hours later on August 14, 2024.
The inquest heard that a paramedic suggested Clarissa was "overreacting and having a panic attack" when she was passed over to triage staff. After arriving at the hospital, Clarissa was given an oxygen mask that was not connected to anything "to try and regulate her breathing" and spent around an hour in a corridor before being transferred to higher care.
Medical History
Clarissa had a history of a provoked pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis in 2017 and had taken blood thinners intermittently between then and 2024. The inquest was told that, based on national guidelines, she did not need a haematology referral in 2017 and did not require long-term anticoagulant drugs due to the embolism being provoked. It was accepted that in hindsight, a haematology referral might have helped, but her 2024 embolism was unprovoked and "cannot be said that the two are linked."
Hospital Care
Nurse Michelle Neale, the triage nurse on duty, asked for an ECG, blood tests, and venous blood gas tests. She admitted giving Clarissa a disconnected oxygen mask, saying she "didn't know" why she did it and accepted it was wrong, but claimed it "did regulate her breathing" and that Clarissa was "speaking in full sentences."
Ms. Neale then passed Clarissa to a more senior nurse, who said she would require a cubicle. However, Clarissa, who had low blood oxygen levels and a high heart rate, was placed in a corridor for about an hour. The senior nurse told Ms. Neale that Clarissa was "young so we'll just keep an eye on her" when she was put on fluids and left in the corridor.
Ms. Neale added: "Normally I would challenge it but Clarissa was talking to me. She could speak to me in full sentences. I remember her coming in. She was able to talk to me and she told me that she had been on holiday to the Canary Islands. I went back to Clarissa on the corridor and I asked her had [the oxygen mask] helped her and she said yes."
Clarissa was eventually taken to higher care to be treated by a doctor before deteriorating and passing away in the early hours of August 14. The inquest is scheduled to conclude on Friday, May 8.
