NHS apologises over death of Sheffield woman told to take paracetamol

A NHS Trust has apologised for the death of a Sheffield woman after a paramedic told her to take paracetamol for chest pains.

Carol Wilson's husband Peter called 111 on New Year's Day in 2015 after she had been suffering from chest pains for a few days, as well as severe throat and ear pain, and pain on breathing.

The 111 service sent a paramedic to the couple's Sheffield home at around 7am but, rather than giving her a heart scan or taking her to hospital, they said she should take paracetamol.

Mrs Wilson, 70, who had three sons, died in her sleep two days later due to a heart condition.

Medical negligence lawyers at Irwin Mitchell investigated Mrs Wilson's treatment and found the paramedic failed to carry out an ECG scan, which would have identified abnormalities that needed hospital treatment.

Lawyers argued that if Mrs Wilson had been admitted to hospital, it is likely that pericarditis - a swelling of the fluid-filled sac surrounding the heart which causes chest and breathing pain - would have been picked up and treated.

Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust has admitted that, on the balance of probabilities, Mrs Wilson's death could have been prevented if she had been given an ECG and sent to hospital by the paramedic.