Woman, 31, left on trolley in corridor before dying 'failed by the NHS'

Tamara Davis, 31, died in intensive care at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in December.

The family of a 31-year-old woman from Brighton says she was "failed" by the NHS and died after "disgusting" treatment at a major hospital emergency department.

Tamara Davis was admitted to the Royal Sussex County Hospital with breathing difficulties on the evening of Saturday, 10th December.

She was initially given oxygen in a cubicle but was moved into a corridor and taken off monitoring equipment.

Tamara's younger sister, Miya Davis, says she spent up to 12 hours in the corridor, with very little checking by staff.

She died in intensive care three days later.

Tamara Davis, left, and her sister Miya, right.

Tamara's family say they thought she had Covid at first because she was struggling to breathe.

But when she started coughing up blood and collapsed, they dialled 999.

They say they were unable to get an emergency ambulance so had to get a lift from a friend to the Royal Sussex.

Tamara's sister, Miya said: "She wasn't being monitored, she was just curled up on a bed in a corridor. It's horrible to see your sister like that, especially your big sister.

"When you're going through what she was going through, you wouldn't put your worst enemy through that kind of thing."

  • Sister says the treatment at Royal Sussex NHS hospital was 'disgusting'

In a statement, Dr Rob Haigh, chief medical officer at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust said: "We send our heartfelt condolences to the family of Miss Davis, and our thoughts are with them at this difficult time.

"We are sorry for their experience at our hospital, and if Miss Davis' family wish to contact us directly to discuss the concerns they have we would welcome that opportunity."

Today, the Prime Minister announced a new £1bn fund for extra NHS beds and ambulances, as concerns mount about the pressure on the health service.

But the Government's critics say that promises of more hospital beds and ambulances are useless if you haven't got the nurses, doctors and paramedics required to care for patients.

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