Student was 'treated like time-waster' before collapsing and dying in pain

A normally fit and healthy university student died in excruciating pain after medical staff made her feel like a "time-waster", her devastated mother told an inquest. Libby Instone, 20, from Billingham, Teesside, had been vomiting for several days when she eventually collapsed and died. She had visited an urgent care centre three times within 24 hours, yet was told she was suffering from gastroenteritis prior to her death in August 2023. Libby had been studying law at Newcastle University and had aspired to become a barrister, Teesside Coroner Clare Bailey, sitting in Middlesbrough, was informed. The inquest heard that she had died as a result of an infarction of her small intestine. Libby's mother Susan Instone, 57, told the inquest that her daughter had returned from a trip to London with her boyfriend on August 16 when she began vomiting and was experiencing severe pain. As Libby continued to retch, Mrs Instone called 111 on August 18 and took her daughter to North Tees Hospital Urgent Care Centre (UCC), where she was prescribed anti-sickness medication but was not physically examined, she said. Her daughter, who she described as ordinarily fit and full of energy, was sent home, but her worried family brought her back to the UCC that same evening, where a doctor diagnosed Libby with gastroenteritis and placed her on a saline drip. Mrs Instone, who attended the inquest alongside Libby's father Ian, recounted how her daughter was again discharged at 1.30am on 19 August, only to vomit "black liquid" in the car park. Her parents brought her back to the UCC at 2.30pm that same day as she was "totally exhausted and very weak", her mother told the inquest, reports the Mirror . Following a conversation with a member of UCC staff, the family opted to take Libby to an accident and emergency department, where they faced another lengthy wait. Mrs Instone said they waited approximately nine hours before Libby was seen, after which a nurse placed her on a drip. She was additionally given painkillers and anti-sickness medication, the inquest heard. Libby was admitted to a ward that evening, and the following day her parents visited, though they claimed staff were distracted by a penalty shoot-out in the Women's World Cup on television. Later that day, Mrs Instone said Libby was permitted to return home, yet she remained so poorly that she had to be carried back to bed after spending a short time with the family. Her mother attempted to feed her tomato soup, which she was unable to manage. Mrs Instone said: "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 and paramedics were called. Libby was taken to hospital but could not be saved, the inquest heard. Mrs Instone said: "A female member of staff then came up to me and told me that they had just thought that she was a time-waster. She was a nurse. We had just lost Libby and I didn't know what was going on." In the days following her death, Mrs Instone revealed the family were informed by the hospital that Libby could not have been saved, only discovering the truth six months later. Mrs Instone said: "My daughter's last few days of life were horrendous. Libby was in constant agony, she was scared. "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." An independent medical expert, appointed by the coroner, established that Libby had been unable to open her bowels for several days, which should have raised alarm bells amongst medical staff that she was not suffering from gastroenteritis, given that diarrhoea is a typical symptom. The report concluded that numerous opportunities to carry out a scan of her abdomen had been missed, and that surgery could have successfully resolved her blocked intestine. Dr Michael Stewart, group chief medical officer for North Tees and Hartlepool and South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trusts, told the inquest he offered "an unreserved and sincere apology for the missed opportunities in Libby's care". He noted there was a "degree of confirmation bias" in relation to the persistent diagnosis of gastroenteritis. The coroner was due to deliver her conclusion on Monday afternoon.