The family of 15-year old schoolgirl Lauren Hughes from Ross have spoken out about the care their daughter received at the Minor Injuries Unit at Ross Community Hospital earlier this year.

They gave an account of the treatment Lauren received prior to her death to the charity, the Patients Association which highlights examples of poor care in a bid to improve the way patients within the NHS are sometimes treated.

Lauren's parents told the Association that she had suffered with asthma most of her life and although it was usually controlled well with medication she occasionally required hospital treatment for severe symptoms.

In April her parents took her to Ross Minor Injuries Unit where she was given a nebuliser and then sent home.

Later that evening her condition worsened and her parents took her back to the hospital.After waiting to be let in a nurse recognised it was an emergency and gave Lauren medication and called for an ambulance.

In their account Mr and Mrs Hughes said: "The nurse that was on the phone started to scream 'she's gone' and 'we've lost her,' a second nurse had to calm her down."

Lauren was transferred by ambulance first to Hereford Hospital and then to Stoke. However a brain scan there confirmed Lauren had suffered a devastating brain injury. She died three days after the asthma attack.

In their report they said:?"My family feel let down that the hospital staff were not appropriately trained to deal with the case.

"I am concerned that it did not seem to be standard hospital practice that if no member of the medical team knew how to help Lauren, medical staff or Doctors were not called to assist her."

"There was nobody at this hospital that was trained in advanced life support."

"I believe that Lauren may still be alive if these problems had been dealt with and addressed."

For the rest of this story please see this week's Ross Gazette.

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