Beautician and Unborn Baby Died After Four Missed Pregnancy Tests at Hospital
A 22-year-old beautician and her unborn baby died after doctors failed to check if she was pregnant during four separate visits to hospital, an inquest has heard. Zoe Tighe visited her local A&E department four times over six weeks complaining of lower abdominal pain, but medical staff did not conduct a pregnancy test on any occasion.
Missed Opportunities and Tragic Outcome
Miss Tighe, from Lowestoft in Suffolk, attended the emergency department at James Paget Hospital in Gorleston, Norfolk, on April 24, May 22, June 2 and June 7, 2023. On each visit, she presented with severe abdominal discomfort, yet medics treated her for a recurring urinary tract infection instead of investigating potential pregnancy.
Just over two weeks after her final hospital visit, Miss Tighe collapsed at home and was rushed back to the same hospital by ambulance. Upon arrival, she was diagnosed with sepsis, and a scan revealed she was 14 weeks pregnant. Tragically, the scan also showed that her baby had already died due to the infection.
Miss Tighe was transferred to Norfolk and Norwich Hospital, where she suffered three cardiac arrests shortly after giving birth to her miscarried baby. She died on June 26, 2023, with her provisional medical cause of death recorded as sepsis due to e-coli, urinary tract infection and missed miscarriage, with ketamine misuse listed as a contributing factor.
Family's Heartbreaking Testimony
During the inquest at Norfolk Coroner's Court, Miss Tighe's mother, Jane Tighe, gave emotional testimony about her daughter's final months. She described how her daughter had been "unwell for some time" and had used ketamine since age 17 following her father's death. This had led to bladder fibrosis, known as "ketamine bladder," and frequent urinary tract infections.
Mrs Tighe explained that her daughter had completed three months of rehabilitation in Weston-super-Mare and was determined to "get better" when she returned home four months before her death. "She had everything to live for; a promising career, secure and loving home and a nice boyfriend," Mrs Tighe told the hearing.
However, Miss Tighe's physical health remained poor, and she experienced "extreme pain all of the time." Despite seeking help through support groups, speaking to her support worker, and frequently visiting her GP for pain relief, the pain was relentless. Mrs Tighe said this led to her daughter relapsing with ketamine use for temporary relief.
Systemic Failures in Care
The inquest heard that Miss Tighe's pain was so severe it resulted in her becoming wheelchair-bound and suicidal at times. Mrs Tighe claimed that during her daughter's many emergency department visits, she was "barely looked at" and "just sent home with very basic painkillers and/or antibiotics for the UTI, which plainly didn't work at all."
"I honestly feel that anyone who saw her at James Paget simply didn't look beyond her ketamine issue," Mrs Tighe said. "They were just not interested in investigating if anything else was wrong. They just kept saying they couldn't do anything for her. I asked for scans and begged for her to be admitted as she was in so much pain and so frail, but I was frankly ignored."
A legal representative for the family raised critical questions during the hearing: "One of the questions is whether there being no pregnancy testing performed has altered the flow of events at all, and whether not performing the pregnancy test has caused or materially contributed to Zoe's death. Pregnancy tests ought to have been performed on several occasions at the JPH."
Standard Procedures Not Followed
Mrs Tighe revealed that the consultant who assisted in delivering the baby at Norfolk and Norwich Hospital "could not understand why James Paget had never done a routine pregnancy test on any of Zoe's visits." The consultant stated this would be standard procedure for any young woman presenting at A&E with lower abdominal pain, even if they didn't believe they were pregnant.
Reflecting on what might have been different, Mrs Tighe said: "It is my belief that had Zoe been made aware of her pregnancy when she first presented at James Paget with the abdominal issues, that attitude towards the maintenance of her health and seeking further support for the sake of the unborn child would have been a priority."
She added: "Although Zoe had not planned to have a child at this time, she was a caring person who would have stepped up to meet the responsibilities of parenthood. There was far more to Zoe than substance abuse. She was a human being that deserved care, and they frankly didn't look beyond her drug issue at the other problems which could have been detected had they taken any interest."
Calls for Justice and Learning
Mrs Tighe concluded her testimony with a plea for change: "I hope action will be taken to ensure justice is done for Zoe. There are certainly lessons to be learned." The inquest continues and is expected to conclude with findings about whether both lives could have been saved if the pregnancy had been detected earlier through routine testing.
This tragic case highlights critical questions about medical protocols, patient assessment, and whether systemic biases against patients with substance abuse histories may have contributed to missed diagnostic opportunities with fatal consequences.
