Medical response for tragic Baggies fan Mark Townsend at WBA game to be examined
A pre-inquest review was held on Thursday following the death of Mark Townsend, 57 – a West Brom fan who died after he became unwell at Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough stadium on September 28, 2024.
Sheffield's senior coroner Tanyka Rawden said the inquest is due to open on September 29 and could last up to two weeks.
READ MORE: Brother's tribute to tragic West Brom fan with 'zest for life' as fund set up in his memory
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Mrs Rawden said the hearing will consider issues including what medical equipment was available at the ground and its 'functionality'.
It will ask what were the qualifications of the medical staff available in the ground, how many medically qualified staff were in the ground and the 'response to Mark being unwell'.
She said this would include the 'timing of the response, the nature of the response and the appropriateness of the medical treatment given'.
Mr Townsend's family, Sheffield Wednesday Football Club, Yorkshire Ambulance Service, Lambda Medical – the private company which provided medical cover at Hillsborough - and the Sports Ground Safety Authority were named as 'interested persons' in the inquest, meaning they have a right to ask questions at the hearing.
Mrs Rawden said she hoped 'disconnect' between different witness accounts in relation to the timings of the events in the stadium would be cleared up by CCTV footage.
CCTV footage provided to the court by Sheffield Wednesday from three different cameras will be shown at the inquest.
Ian Perkins, a representative of Sheffield Wednesday, said there was a medical response 'within at least three, if not four minutes'.
The coroner said there will be a further pre-inquest review on August 28, but only if this is needed.
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