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Medical neglect contributed to mother's death, inquest finds

Joanne WrittleWest Midlands health correspondent

Family Three women smile in a selfie against a blue glittery backdrop. The woman on the left has long loose black hair, the one in the middle has white short curly hair and glasses and is wearing an orange scoop-neck t-shirt. the woman on the right has black hair tied back and dark-framed glasses.

A family say their mother was let down in the worst possible way when she died after being sent home from hospital with a blood clot on her lungs.

Sue Howell, from Bilston, died from a pulmonary embolism, a clot in the blood vessel connecting the heart with the lungs.

An inquest heard test results were available which would have alerted medical staff, but they were not acted upon.

The Black Country assistant coroner Helena Gallagher gave a narrative conclusion, noting the 73-year-old's death was contributed to by neglect in the medical treatment she received at New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton.

In evidence, a doctor told the inquest she did not know the D-Dimer test had been requested and it was not in the patient's notes, despite the result being available several hours before the mother was sent home.

In a statement, the hospital apologised for "not providing the standard of care we strive for" and said an investigation since the patient's death had led to "several actions".

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Howell's daughter Vic Smith said she felt "absolutely furious", adding: "The results were there on a computer system, they were there."

Her other daughter, Liz Howell said: "We're not professionals, medics - we entrusted mum to them and they just let us down, massively.

"They'll never understand what they've done to us. Never and it's something that we relive daily. There's not a day goes by when some aspect of that weekend doesn't come to my mind."

The mother-of-four was taken to hospital on 11 April 2025 after falling at home and breaking her arms.

She was discharged that night, but taken to hospital again the next morning after collapsing at home.

Family A couple pictured in a room with others in the background. They are both smiling. The woman is wearing a pink scoop-necked t-shirt and has light curly short hair. The man is in a pale blue shirt and wire-framed glasses. He has white hair swept back from his forehead.

A Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust spokesperson said: "We would like to express our heartfelt condolences to Mrs Howell's family for their loss and apologies for not providing the standard of care we strive for.

"Following Mrs Howell's death, a thorough investigation was carried out.

"We have taken several actions since this incident took place and continue to work with our teams to learn, improve our services and support the needs of our patients and their families."

Mrs Howell had two sons and two daughters, and 11 grandchildren.

Vic Smith described her mum as "an angel" and was the "beating heart" of their family.

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