A university student died in agonising pain after medics made her feel like a “time-waster”, her grieving mother has told an inquest. Libby Instone, 20, from Billingham, Teesside, had been vomiting for days before she collapsed and died in August 2023. She had visited an urgent care centre three times in 24 hours but was repeatedly told she was suffering from gastroenteritis.
Repeated Visits to Urgent Care
Libby, a law student at Newcastle University who aspired to become a barrister, returned from a trip to London with her boyfriend on August 16, 2023, when she began vomiting and experiencing extreme pain. Her mother, Susan Instone, 57, called NHS 111 on August 18 and took her to North Tees Hospital Urgent Care Centre (UCC). There, Libby was prescribed anti-sickness medication but was not examined, according to her mother. She was sent home, but the family returned that evening when a doctor diagnosed gastroenteritis and placed her on a saline drip.
Libby was discharged again at 1:30 am on August 19, only to vomit “black liquid” in the car park. Her parents brought her back to the UCC at 2:30 pm that day as she was “totally exhausted and very weak.” After discussing her condition with staff, the family decided to take her to an accident and emergency unit, where they waited approximately nine hours. A nurse placed her on a drip and administered painkillers and anti-sickness medication.
Missed Opportunities
Libby was admitted to a ward that night. The next day, her parents visited but claimed staff were distracted watching a penalty shoot-out in the Women’s World Cup on television. Later that day, Libby was allowed to go home but remained severely unwell. Her mother tried to feed her tomato soup, which she could not manage. Mrs Instone recalled: “She said she was scared and asked if she was going to die. I laughed and told her not to be daft.” Minutes later, Libby collapsed. Paramedics rushed her to hospital, but she could not be saved.
Mrs Instone said a nurse told her: “They had just thought that she was a time-waster. We had just lost Libby and I didn’t know what was going on.” The family was initially told Libby could not have been saved, only learning the truth six months later. “My daughter’s last few days of life were horrendous. Libby was in constant agony, she was scared,” Mrs Instone said. “We went to hospital trusting in the people we believed would look after her but Libby was let down by doctors who were meant to take care of her. Libby was treated as an annoyance, a time-waster and was never shown any compassion.”
Inquest Findings
An independent medical expert instructed by the coroner found that Libby had not been able to open her bowels for several days, a symptom that should have raised suspicion of a condition other than gastroenteritis, which typically causes diarrhoea. The report concluded that multiple opportunities for a stomach scan were missed and that surgery could have successfully treated her blocked intestine. Dr Michael Stewart, group chief medical officer for North Tees and Hartlepool and South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trusts, offered “an unreserved and sincere apology for the missed opportunities in Libby’s care.” He acknowledged a “degree of confirmation bias” regarding the repeated diagnosis of gastroenteritis. The coroner was expected to deliver her conclusion on Monday afternoon.
