Latest news with #UniversityofSouthWales
Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mirror
'Beautiful daughter' was 'dismissed multiple times' by doctors before her death
The family of "beautiful" and "caring" Bethan Amy James, 21, claim that medics they encountered before their daughter's tragic death failed to respond to the gravity of her condition and repeatedly dismissed her symptoms A "beautiful" and "caring" daughter was "dismissed" countless times by doctors before she died in hospital, an inquest has heard. Bethan Amy James, 21, the daughter of former England cricketer Steve James, was first admitted to hospital on February 8, 2020, and died the following day. Her sports journalist dad was covering Wales' Six Nations match in Ireland when his daughter was taken seriously ill. Weather delays prevented him from flying home in time to say his last goodbye. At Pontryppid Coroner's Court Tuesday, an inquest heard how Bethan had presented to hospital on a number of occasions before February 8. Speaking at court, her mum Jane James claimed she had been "dismissed" by several members of staff. She believes her "caring and beautiful" daughter's "life could have been saved" had someone realised the seriousness of her condition. Bethan - who was diagnosed with Crohn's in 2019 aged just 20 years old - had been studying journalism at the University of South Wales and had hoped of being a voice for people with the illness. She had even started a blog documenting her experiences of the condition, and had been involved in a BBC documentary with Strictly Come Dancing star Amy Dowden, who also has Crohn's. Paying tribute to her daughter Mrs James said: 'As a person she never moaned, she never made a fuss. She was very caring. She was just beautiful. She put people before herself. She was more interested in other people and their stories and I think that's why she would have made a brilliant journalist.' Speaking about the heartbreaking events leading up to her death, Mrs James recalled how her daughter first began complaining of tiredness, and had shortness of breath, with Bethan booking an emergency GP appointment for January 27. She returned to University Hospital Wales in Cardiff on multiple occasions, but said the doctors they encountered repeatedly dismissed her despite her GP raising an urgent referral. Over the following days, Bethan's symptoms worsened, and she had also developed numbness and issues with her right leg. During one of the encounters with a consultant, Mrs James said the doctor was "very, very dismissive", having said: "You again! You were here on Sunday. Mrs James claims that it took threats to contact health board seniors before a follow-up appointment was arranged. This was despite Bethan being barely able to walk out of the hospital. On Saturday, February 8 - with Bethan bed-bound - the family called an ambulance and paramedics arrived, but Mrs James said there was no "rush" to get her daughter to the hospital. Bethan was still classified as not "unwell enough" and had to wait outside the hospital for a bed, Mrs James added. All the while this was ongoing Mrs James said her daughter was awake, could 'hardly breathe' and was 'so scared'. After some time Mrs James said an anaesthetist came down and Bethan was put to sleep. Mrs James said she felt that with that her daughter's body lost its ability to fight. She said she was asked to leave the room at around 9.25pm before she was told that her daughter had a cardiac arrest a short time later. Mrs James recalled being told that medics were working on her daughter and asked if she wanted to be with Bethan as she passed away. 'As soon as I walked in, I knew she was dead,' Mrs James said. She commented that a sepsis protocol should have been put in place early on and that her daughter 'should have had the right care straight away'. She added: 'It's heartbreaking as a mum to know that her life could have been saved. They didn't know what they were doing.' The inquest continues.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
‘I'm forking out £70k to become a lawyer, but the salary is a pittance'
Going into a white-collar profession, like law or engineering, has long guaranteed a lucrative and stable career. You would go to university to qualify for a specific job and be set for life – all with little or no student debt. But for young people entering the workforce now, the equation is less simple. Taking on the huge burden of student loans and any further qualification costs, while facing stagnant wages, means that the traditional professions, with their years of training and low pay, look far less enticing. Meanwhile, minimum wage is rising to around the same rate as graduate pay. Application numbers for practical degrees in traditional white-collar industries – law, accounting and finance, medicine and engineering – have increased in the past five years, with growth as much as 36pc. But some students are graduating to find that the 'easy' path to a white-collar career is now broken. Naomi Cicconie, 39, is an unusual law student. She served five years in the military before joining the prison service, and then worked in a children's home while she did her law degree at the University of South Wales. She has spent £54,000 on her degree, and will have to pay out a further £13,900 on the Legal Practice Certificate (LPC), which she is planning to start later this year. All in, that's nearly £70,000 just to qualify as a lawyer, not including living costs. The entry-level salary in Wales, where she lives and works, is around £22,000. Cicconie says that even once she is fully qualified, she'll likely earn between £28,000 and £42,000. 'You're spending all of this money to get a job [with a salary] that is under 50pc of what you've borrowed to qualify. It makes no sense,' she says. 'I am at a stage now where I am thinking to myself, 'What is the point?'' Corporate law comes with famously large salaries, especially for those working at American firms in the City, where those who have just qualified can expect to be paid as much as £180,000. But for most of those outside big cities, working in certain types of law, or in legal aid – a crucial aspect of the justice system which Cicconie works in – six-figure salaries are unthinkable. Cicconie says many of her colleagues have left, blaming low pay. She adds: 'I would say to anyone who is joining a bit later, and wants to get on with their career, don't go anywhere near [legal aid]. Unless you're lucky to be in the financial position where you don't have the stress of needing to earn a certain amount of money.' The economic situation for all young people is tough. The average graduate salary 15 months on from their studies, for those who graduated in 2022, was £27,500, according to the Higher Education Statistics Authority. In 2010, the average was £20,000 – if salaries had kept pace with inflation, they would now be more than £30,000. Pay for all full-time employees decreased by 2pc in real terms between 2010 and April last year, according to House of Commons research. For those aged between 22 and 29, it dropped by 10pc. And while average graduate pay has fallen in real terms by about 4pc over the past two decades, the minimum wage has risen by 60pc, according to analysis by the Resolution Foundation. It means that someone working full-time on minimum wage can earn £25,000 a year, similar to or higher than some graduate salaries. It found that 20 years ago, the median graduate starting out in their career earned around two-and-a-half times the minimum wage. Add to this the burden of student debt. University tuition fees are set to rise for the first time in eight years when the new academic year starts this September, from £9,250 to £9,535. The average graduate has a debt of more than £48,000, according to the Student Loans Company, and newer graduates face a more onerous repayment system, especially if they are what are considered high earners. Most professions require a university degree, unless they are on apprenticeship schemes – and many require extra qualifications, such as Cicconie's LPC, some of which have to be paid for out of the student's own pocket. Many legal firms now prefer the Solicitor's Qualifying Exam (SQE), which will cost a total of £4,908 from this September, having risen from £4,790. Even once a young professional has qualified, pay remains suppressed. Engineers, for example, are much less well-paid in the UK than the US, with an average salary of £37,000 compared to entry-level pay of $74,000 (£55,000) for American graduates, according to Glassdoor. Low pay is not the only problem. Working from home, quickly changing workplaces with badly organised training, and the threat of the rise of AI, all contribute to a sense of rising frustration. The chief executive of AI firm, Anthropic, has predicted that it will destroy half of all entry-level white-collar jobs in five years. Meanwhile, vacancy levels are back to pre-pandemic levels, according to the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, with a 5.5pc drop in openings compared to November last year. Demand for workers surged initially as the economy recovered from the pandemic, but has slowed down since. For some would-be white collar workers, getting into their desired profession has come with unexpected training and costly qualifications. One biochemistry graduate, who completed his undergraduate degree in 2022 and now works for the NHS in the north of England, says he's frustrated about poor communication about how much more training he would need. He needs a specific technical qualification, but there are only so many training positions available, for which you need to be sponsored. He explains: 'To do an Institute of Biomedical Science training portfolio, you have to be sponsored and in an approved laboratory. Usually by taking a trainee Band 5 position, of which there are naturally a limited number. 'This is incredibly frustrating as it bottlenecks the whole process and, for me at least, wasn't clearly explained at university. It feels like I'm banging my head against a brick wall.' Architects are among those who face years-long training requirements. After an undergraduate degree, a year in practice, and then a master's degree, young landscape architects also face a two-year process to gain 'chartered' status. And after having jumped through these various hurdles, and totted up years' worth of student debt, pay in architecture is notoriously low. One 27-year-old landscape architect, who has finally completed his formal training, says: 'My main thought is that it is unnecessarily long. I don't think we need to spend the amount of time at university that we did. 'Although it is fun, and I enjoyed doing my masters, when I look back on it I think I would have benefited from spending more time in practice.' Another young landscape architect says that while there are jobs available in the UK, the bigger salaries are in Scandinavia and the US. There, he says, 'it's paid a lot higher, it's valued more'. While training, landscape architects in the UK can expect between £17,000 and £20,000, he says, but once you have a master's degree, this increases to around £30,000. To get there, he took on tens of thousands in student debt for his degrees, including a master's that cost £12,000, and maintenance. But like many young people he avoids looking at how much student loan he owes. 'I would imagine most people try not to think about it, don't they? I am probably quite deep in a hole.' Some young people pursuing a 'traditional' white-collar career feel like they fell – or were pushed – into it. One final year student at Glasgow University says that she 'leaned in' to the pressure to study law because her parents told her she would be good at it. 'I am now in my final year and I look back and I never really asked myself if this is something I want,' she says. 'I think of doing law at the end of it as an actual punishment. It's really scary, because I look back and think, 'Have I just wasted three years?'' She worries that she rushed into a 'professional' degree, and that she might have got more fulfilment studying something she enjoyed more. 'It's not a bad thing to have under my belt. But I do look back and wonder whether I would have been better off studying something else. I have friends who are studying degrees such as sculpture and environmental practice. I find their curriculum so much more enriching, although not a proper profession.' Increasing numbers of school leavers are choosing a different path, opting for degree apprenticeships, which sets them up for the same careers but without the student debt. Iyioluwa Adesan, 25, joined NatWest as a digital apprentice. He says: 'My parents, like many others, viewed university as the only credible route to success because it was the only route they had been exposed to. But deep down, I knew I wasn't naturally suited to the academic, theory-heavy approach of a traditional university. I was more practical. I needed a different kind of learning environment.' Adesan spent five years at NatWest, completing an undergraduate degree, and now works to connect potential apprentices to full-time work. Those working in accounting and finance apprenticeships can expect to earn an average of £29,945 after five years. But Adesan did feel cut out of the social life of university. He says: 'The social side was different. There was no freshers' week or vibrant campus life in the traditional sense.' There were friendships made at work, he says, and over time he developed a professional network. He adds: 'I want to help shift the perception around apprenticeships. They are not a second option, just a less visible one.' He's now started his own company, supporting other apprentices. Conor Cotton, of Not Going To Uni, said: 'We continue to see a clear increase in interest around non-university routes, especially apprenticeships. 'For many young people, the recent announcement on increasing tuition fees has become an even stronger reason to avoid student debt, and developing practical skills is becoming increasingly appealing compared to the traditional university route.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
7 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
‘I'm forking out £70k to become a lawyer, but the salary is a pittance'
Going into a white-collar profession, like law or engineering, has long guaranteed a lucrative and stable career. You would go to university to qualify for a specific job and be set for life – all with little or no student debt. But for young people entering the workforce now, the equation is less simple. Taking on the huge burden of student loans and any further qualification costs, while facing stagnant wages, means that the traditional professions, with their years of training and low pay, look far less enticing. Meanwhile, minimum wage is rising to around the same rate as graduate pay. Application numbers for practical degrees in traditional white-collar industries – law, accounting and finance, medicine and engineering – have increased in the past five years, with growth as much as 36pc. But some students are graduating to find that the 'easy' path to a white-collar career is now broken. 'What is the point?' Naomi Cicconie, 39, is an unusual law student. She served five years in the military before joining the prison service, and then worked in a children's home while she did her law degree at the University of South Wales. She has spent £54,000 on her degree, and will have to pay out a further £13,900 on the Legal Practice Certificate (LPC), which she is planning to start later this year. All in, that's nearly £70,000 just to qualify as a lawyer, not including living costs. The entry-level salary in Wales, where she lives and works, is around £22,000. Cicconie says that even once she is fully qualified, she'll likely earn between £28,000 and £42,000. 'You're spending all of this money to get a job [with a salary] that is under 50pc of what you've borrowed to qualify. It makes no sense,' she says. 'I am at a stage now where I am thinking to myself, 'What is the point?'' Corporate law comes with famously large salaries, especially for those working at American firms in the City, where those who have just qualified can expect to be paid as much as £180,000. But for most of those outside big cities, working in certain types of law, or in legal aid – a crucial aspect of the justice system which Cicconie works in – six-figure salaries are unthinkable. Cicconie says many of her colleagues have left, blaming low pay. She adds: 'I would say to anyone who is joining a bit later, and wants to get on with their career, don't go anywhere near [legal aid]. Unless you're lucky to be in the financial position where you don't have the stress of needing to earn a certain amount of money.' Soaring student debt and stagnant wages The economic situation for all young people is tough. The average graduate salary 15 months on from their studies, for those who graduated in 2022, was £27,500, according to the Higher Education Statistics Authority. In 2010, the average was £20,000 – if salaries had kept pace with inflation, they would now be more than £30,000. Pay for all full-time employees decreased by 2pc in real terms between 2010 and April last year, according to House of Commons research. For those aged between 22 and 29, it dropped by 10pc. And while average graduate pay has fallen in real terms by about 4pc over the past two decades, the minimum wage has risen by 60pc, according to analysis by the Resolution Foundation. It means that someone working full-time on minimum wage can earn £25,000 a year, similar to or higher than some graduate salaries. It found that 20 years ago, the median graduate starting out in their career earned around two-and-a-half times the minimum wage. Add to this the burden of student debt. University tuition fees are set to rise for the first time in eight years when the new academic year starts this September, from £9,250 to £9,535. The average graduate has a debt of more than £48,000, according to the Student Loans Company, and newer graduates face a more onerous repayment system, especially if they are what are considered high earners. Most professions require a university degree, unless they are on apprenticeship schemes – and many require extra qualifications, such as Cicconie's LPC, some of which have to be paid for out of the student's own pocket. Many legal firms now prefer the Solicitor's Qualifying Exam (SQE), which will cost a total of £4,908 from this September, having risen from £4,790. Even once a young professional has qualified, pay remains suppressed. Engineers, for example, are much less well-paid in the UK than the US, with an average salary of £37,000 compared to entry-level pay of $74,000 (£55,000) for American graduates, according to Glassdoor. Low pay is not the only problem. Working from home, quickly changing workplaces with badly organised training, and the threat of the rise of AI, all contribute to a sense of rising frustration. The chief executive of AI firm, Anthropic, has predicted that it will destroy half of all entry-level white-collar jobs in five years. Meanwhile, vacancy levels are back to pre-pandemic levels, according to the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, with a 5.5pc drop in openings compared to November last year. Demand for workers surged initially as the economy recovered from the pandemic, but has slowed down since. The costly hurdles to entering a profession For some would-be white collar workers, getting into their desired profession has come with unexpected training and costly qualifications. One biochemistry graduate, who completed his undergraduate degree in 2022 and now works for the NHS in the north of England, says he's frustrated about poor communication about how much more training he would need. He needs a specific technical qualification, but there are only so many training positions available, for which you need to be sponsored. He explains: 'To do an Institute of Biomedical Science training portfolio, you have to be sponsored and in an approved laboratory. Usually by taking a trainee Band 5 position, of which there are naturally a limited number. 'This is incredibly frustrating as it bottlenecks the whole process and, for me at least, wasn't clearly explained at university. It feels like I'm banging my head against a brick wall.' Architects are among those who face years-long training requirements. After an undergraduate degree, a year in practice, and then a master's degree, young landscape architects also face a two-year process to gain 'chartered' status. And after having jumped through these various hurdles, and totted up years' worth of student debt, pay in architecture is notoriously low. One 27-year-old landscape architect, who has finally completed his formal training, says: 'My main thought is that it is unnecessarily long. I don't think we need to spend the amount of time at university that we did. 'Although it is fun, and I enjoyed doing my masters, when I look back on it I think I would have benefited from spending more time in practice.' Another young landscape architect says that while there are jobs available in the UK, the bigger salaries are in Scandinavia and the US. There, he says, 'it's paid a lot higher, it's valued more'. While training, landscape architects in the UK can expect between £17,000 and £20,000, he says, but once you have a master's degree, this increases to around £30,000. To get there, he took on tens of thousands in student debt for his degrees, including a master's that cost £12,000, and maintenance. But like many young people he avoids looking at how much student loan he owes. 'I would imagine most people try not to think about it, don't they? I am probably quite deep in a hole.' 'Have I just wasted three years?' Some young people pursuing a 'traditional' white-collar career feel like they fell – or were pushed – into it. One final year student at Glasgow University says that she 'leaned in' to the pressure to study law because her parents told her she would be good at it. 'I am now in my final year and I look back and I never really asked myself if this is something I want,' she says. 'I think of doing law at the end of it as an actual punishment. It's really scary, because I look back and think, 'Have I just wasted three years?'' She worries that she rushed into a 'professional' degree, and that she might have got more fulfilment studying something she enjoyed more. 'It's not a bad thing to have under my belt. But I do look back and wonder whether I would have been better off studying something else. I have friends who are studying degrees such as sculpture and environmental practice. I find their curriculum so much more enriching, although not a proper profession.' Increasing numbers of school leavers are choosing a different path, opting for degree apprenticeships, which sets them up for the same careers but without the student debt. Iyioluwa Adesan, 25, joined NatWest as a digital apprentice. He says: 'My parents, like many others, viewed university as the only credible route to success because it was the only route they had been exposed to. But deep down, I knew I wasn't naturally suited to the academic, theory-heavy approach of a traditional university. I was more practical. I needed a different kind of learning environment.' Adesan spent five years at NatWest, completing an undergraduate degree, and now works to connect potential apprentices to full-time work. Those working in accounting and finance apprenticeships can expect to earn an average of £29,945 after five years. But Adesan did feel cut out of the social life of university. He says: 'The social side was different. There was no freshers' week or vibrant campus life in the traditional sense.' There were friendships made at work, he says, and over time he developed a professional network. He adds: 'I want to help shift the perception around apprenticeships. They are not a second option, just a less visible one.' He's now started his own company, supporting other apprentices. Conor Cotton, of Not Going To Uni, said: 'We continue to see a clear increase in interest around non-university routes, especially apprenticeships. 'For many young people, the recent announcement on increasing tuition fees has become an even stronger reason to avoid student debt, and developing practical skills is becoming increasingly appealing compared to the traditional university route.'
Daily Mirror
7 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mirror
Ex-England cricketer's daughter 'dismissed multiple times' by NHS before death
An inquest has heard how Bethan Amy James, the daughter of former England cricketer Steve James, was 'dismissed' by doctors before she died just 48 hours after being taken to hospital. The 21-year-old daughter of a former cricket star tragically died after being "dismissed" by doctors multiple times, an inquest has heard. Bethan Amy James, daughter of ex- England cricketer Steve James, passed away in hospital on February 9, 2020 after being admitted the previous day. Bethan's father, now a well-respected sports journalist, was covering Wales' Six Nations match in Ireland when she became seriously ill. Because of severe weather, he was unable to return home in time to see her before she died. The inquest into Ms James' untimely death began today at Pontypridd coroner's court, where it was revealed that Bethan had sought medical help several times before she went into hospital for the last time. Her mum, Jane James, told the inquest that she believed 'her life could have been saved', reports Wales Online. Speaking in person at the inquest, she described Bethan as a 'caring' and 'beautiful' person who always put others before herself. She explained that Bethan had suffered with gastrointestinal issues throughout most of her life, before she was diagnosed with Crohn's disease in 2019 at the age of 20. Mrs James said her daughter took her diagnosis with 'great maturity'. Prior to her death Mrs James said Bethan had been studying journalism at the University of South Wales and dreamed of being a voice for those with Crohn's and related illnesses. It was heard how Bethan had started a vlog account where she documented her experience of the condition, before she became involved in a BBC documentary with Amy Dowden, who is also diagnosed with the condition. The documentary aired after Bethan's death, and the programme was dedicated to her memory. Paying tribute to her daughter Mrs James said: 'As a person she never moaned, she never made a fuss. She was very caring. She was just beautiful. 'She put people before herself. She was more interested in other people and their stories and I think that's why she would have made a brilliant journalist.' Describing the events leading up to her death, Mrs James said Bethan had first visited her GP on January 27, 2020 with fatigue and shortness of breath. Dr Jonathan Carnell gave her an urgent referral to NHS Wales' Llandough Hospital, where she was diagnosed with possible "community acquired pneumonia" - but Mrs James said this was not verbally communicated to her or her daughter by the hospital staff. Despite her illness, Bethan attended university to deliver a presentation the next day but returned "absolutely knackered", and later reported numbness in her right arm and severe nausea, the inquest heard. Over the following days, Bethan's symptoms worsened, including involuntary movements in her right arm and difficulties using her right hand. On February 2, she was taken to A&E at Cardiff's University Hospital of Wales, where a doctor dismissed her symptoms as a "hemiplegic migraine." Mrs James told the inquest: "I don't feel on the 2nd that they fully assessed her." Mrs James became emotional as she recounted how her daughter collapsed on Monday, February 3, due to being "so exhausted" from the hospital visits. After this incident, Mrs James stated an ambulance was called but despite the paramedics' arrival, her daughter refused to go to the hospital, feeling dismissed by various doctors and worn out from the long hours of waiting she had already experienced. Paramedics noted that Bethan's heart rate was high, but they couldn't force her to go to the hospital, it was heard. Two days later, on Wednesday, February 5, Bethan's symptoms continued in her right arm, and she also started experiencing numbness and problems with her right leg. "Myself and my husband knew we needed to do something to try and find out what was going on," Mrs James told the inquest. She said they took her back to A&E at the University Hospital of Wales. During this visit, Mrs James said they met Dr Ngua for the second time. She described him as "very, very dismissive" of her daughter and said that he said words to the effect of: "You again! You were here on Sunday." Speaking during the inquest, Dr Ngua said he "did not mean to be dismissive" when he made that comment. He said on reflection Bethan's high heart rate could have been investigated further. Mrs James said while in the hospital waiting area a medic came and did an observation of her daughter. During this, she explained how her heart rate appeared unusually high, though this was initially dismissed by hospital staff as a fault with the machine, she said. Mrs James said a neurology referral was only arranged for the next day after she threatened to escalate the matter to the board seniors, and they went home. However, upon their arrival she said there was 'no record' of the referral appointment and that medics had 'no idea' why they were there. She described this as 'appalling'. By February 8, Bethan was more unwell at home, she said, and 'looked dreadful' with bags under her eyes, and nails so pale she thought she was wearing white nail polish. After Mrs James rang 999, the first person to arrive was a rapid response paramedic named Paul Humphries. Mrs James said Mr Humphries could not record Bethan's blood pressure properly. In hindsight Mrs James said she now knows this is a sign of sepsis. She said the 'signs' of sepsis were 'right in front' of Mr Humphries. The inquest heard how initially Mr Humphries called for a P3 ambulance response, which refers to a low priority. He later escalated this to a P2. Speaking during the inquest, Mr Humphries said he believes he dealt with Bethan appropriately, adding: 'I didn't come away from that incident thinking I did a bad job.' When an ambulance turned upm Mrs James said she didn't sense any 'rush' to get her daughter to hospital. She finally arrived at 7.45pm following a 12 minute journey, it was heard. Mrs James described that on arrival at the NHS University Hospital of Wales they had to wait in the ambulance outside the hospital for a considerable amount of She said the family 'now know' there was a bed available, claiming her daughter wasn't 'deemed unwell enough' to have it. At 8.10pm Ms James was triaged before she went down to the resus deparment at 9.15pm. Mrs James said it occurred to her that her daughter was only at this point going down to where she needed to be to receive help, some three hours after the ambulance had been called. She described there being 'chaos' at the hospital as medics struggled to administer a line into Bethan, and with nobody clearly in charge of her care. Mrs James said she believes it should have been administered in her daughter's neck instead for easier access, or that she should have been taken down to intensive care. While this was ongoing Mrs James said her daughter was awake, could 'hardly breathe' and was 'so scared'. After a wait, Mrs James said an anaesthetist came down and Bethan was put to sleep. Mrs James said she felt that from this point onwards, her daughter's body lost its ability to fight. She said she was asked to leave the room at around 9.25pm before she was told that her daughter had a cardiac arrest a short time later. Mrs James recalled being told that medics were treating her daughter and asked if she wanted to be with Bethan as she passed away. 'As soon as I walked in, I knew she was dead,' Mrs James said. She said she felt that a sepsis protocol should have been put in place early on and that her daughter 'should have had the right care straight away'. She added: 'It's heartbreaking as a mum to know that her life could have been saved. They didn't know what they were doing.' The inquest continues.
Daily Record
7 days ago
- Health
- Daily Record
Sport star's 'beautiful' daughter 'dismissed multiple times' before death
Amy James died a day after being admitted to hospital. The daughter of a cricket star was "dismissed" by doctors multiple times before she died in hospital. Amy James died a day after being admitted to hospital, an inquest has heard. The 21-year-old, daughter of former England cricketer Steve James, was admitted to hospital on February 8, 2020. She passed away on February 9. Ex-Glamorgan star James, a highly respected sports journalist, was covering Wales' Six Nations match in Ireland when she took seriously ill. Weather delays meant he was unable to return home to see her before she died. Today, an inquest into her death opened on Tuesday at Pontypridd coroner's court. Wales Online reports it heard how Bethan had visited hospital on several occasions prior to February 8. Her doting mother, Jane James, told the inquest that her daughter was 'dismissed' by multiple medics and that 'her life could have been saved'. Speaking in person at the inquest Jane James described Bethan as a 'caring' and 'beautiful' person who always put others before herself. She explained that Bethan had suffered with gastrointestinal issues throughout most of her life, before she was diagnosed with Crohn's disease in 2019 at the age of 20. Mrs James said her daughter took her diagnosis with 'great maturity'. Prior to her death Mrs James said Bethan had been studying journalism at the University of South Wales. She dreamed of being a voice for those with Crohn's and related illnesses. It was heard how Bethan had started a vlog account where she documented her experience of the condition, before she became involved in a BBC documentary with Amy Dowden, who is also diagnosed with the condition. The documentary sadly aired after Bethan's death. The programme was dedicated to her memory. Paying tribute to her daughter Mrs James said: "As a person she never moaned, she never made a fuss. She was very caring. She was just beautiful. She put people before herself. She was more interested in other people and their stories and I think that's why she would have made a brilliant journalist." Mrs James told the inquest about the heartbreaking events that led up to her daughter's death. She explained how on Saturday, January 25, 2020 her daughter had been out in town with a friend when she complained of feeling tired and having shortness of breath. Mrs James said they decided to book her daughter in for an emergency appointment with her GP on Monday, January 27. The inquest heard that her GP, Dr Jonathan Carnell, was concerned about Bethan and set up an urgent referral at Llandough hospital for her respiratory symptoms to be investigated. It was heard that discharge summary notes from the appointment on January 28 read that Bethan was likely suffering from 'community acquired pneumonia'. She was given antibiotics and discharged. However, Mrs James said this diagnosis was not verbally relayed to her or her daughter by medics at the hospital. She said: "They didn't tell her 'community acquired pneumonia'. We sat in the waiting area and they said they think she may have a chest infection and that she should take antibiotics as a precaution." She added that if the word 'pneumonia' had been used it would have struck the family as more sinister in that early stage of her illness developing. The following day, on Tuesday, Mrs James said her daughter was determined to go to university to deliver a presentation that was important to her. Bethan was well enough to drive herself to university, but was 'absolutely exhausted' by the time she got home, it was heard. She developed numbness in her right arm and continued feeling short of breath, the inquest was told. Over the next few days Bethan developed more symptoms including involuntary movements in her right arm and difficulties using her right arm and hand. It was heard how she struggled to hold a cup and had problems holding her arm above her head. In addition it was heard how Bethan was suffering abdominal pain and nausea to the point of being unable to 'tolerate food '. 'On Tuesday she could drive, and by Sunday she couldn't hold a cup in her hand,' Mrs James told the inquest. Due to her worsening symptoms Mrs James said she took her daughter to accident and emergency (A&E) at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff on Sunday, February 2. Mrs James said she clearly remembers the day, including telling the triage nurse about the previous appointment in Llandough. In response, she said the nurse was 'abrupt' which upset her daughter. She explained how Bethan was seen by one particular doctor who was 'dismissive' of her chest symptoms. She said he did not think it was of 'any significance'. She said he spoke to A&E consultant Dr Chen Wen Ngua for advice as well as to neurology registrar Dr Mark Willis. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. It was heard how the outcome of this hospital trip was that Bethan's symptoms were likely the result of a hemiplegic migraine. Mrs James said: 'I don't feel on the 2nd that they fully assessed her.' Mrs James became emotional when she described how on Monday, February 3, her daughter had collapsed because she was 'so exhausted' from being at hospital. Following this Mrs James said an ambulance was called and although paramedics arrived her daughter said she did not want to go to hospital, having felt dismissed by various medics and exhausted by the hours of waiting around she had already endured. It was heard how paramedics noted that Bethan's heart rate was high, but that she couldn't be forced to go to hospital. Two days later, on Wednesday, February 5, Bethan's symptoms persisted in her right arm, and she had also developed numbness and issues with her right leg. Myself and my husband knew we needed to do something to try and find out what was going on,' Mrs James told the inquest. She said they took her back to A&E at the University Hospital of Wales. During this visit Mrs James said they encountered Dr Ngua for the second time. She described him as "very, very dismissive" of her daughter and recalled that he told her daughter words to the effect of: 'You again! You were here on Sunday.' He said on reflection Bethan's high heart rate could have been investigated further. Mrs James said while in the hospital waiting area a medic came and did an observation of her daughter. During this, she explained how her heart rate appeared unusually high. Mrs James said the medic assumed that the machine was broken, but that the family believe it was more likely that Bethan was being dismissed and that her heart rate really was that high. Coroner Patricia Morgan asked Mrs James whether she thinks her daughter should have been admitted at this point. 'Definitely,' she said. 'She was so unwell. They didn't appreciate how unwell she was.' Mrs James added that it was only when she threatened to contact health board seniors that medics agreed to arrange a follow up appointment with neurology. Meanwhile, Bethan could 'barely walk out of the hospital,' she said. The family was advised to return to the hospital the following morning for the neurology referral, Mrs James said. However, upon their arrival she said there was 'no record' of the referral appointment and that medics had 'no idea' why they were there. She described this as 'appalling'. Mrs James said: 'Again her heart rate was off the scale and they said the machine was not working - it probably was just her heart rate and it was dismissed again.' Mrs James added that throughout the assessment, which was with Dr Willis, her daughter's respiratory symptoms were not investigated. She noted a comment made by Mr Willis that she found inappropriate during the assessment. She said: 'He said he had seen a 17-year-old girl with similar symptoms and that she is now symptom free and fine. I have no idea how he could say this to Bethan without diagnosing her.' She said Dr Willis did organise for blood tests to happen that day, but that Bethan was so dehydrated by the time that these came about that medics could not draw blood. Bethan was advised to get these done at her GP instead. Mrs James added: 'I felt they just wanted Bethan out of there as soon as possible.' Speaking during the inquest Dr Willis said he made the comment in an attempt to show compassion and reassure Mrs James. He added: 'I'm sorry to hear Mrs James feels she wasn't listened to.' Answering questions from the family's advocate, Richard Booth, Dr Willis said it was unusual for neurology assessments to result in hospital admission. He said when examining Bethan he found only mild weakness in her right arm. He addressed that neurological symptoms of the nature experienced by Bethan were rare in cases of sepsis. On Saturday, February 8, Mrs James said her daughter had been in bed all afternoon. By the afternoon she said she was watching rugby with her daughter and trying to encourage her to eat. By 4pm Mrs James said her daughter 'looked dreadful' with bags under her eyes and nails so pale she thought she was wearing white nail polish. On a number of occasions Mrs James recalled asking if she could call for an ambulance, but in response her daughter reiterated that Dr Willis said she would soon be fine. However, she called 999 that evening. The first person to arrive was a rapid response paramedic named Paul Humphries. Mrs James said Mr Humphries could not record Bethan's blood pressure properly. In hindsight Mrs James said she now knows this is a sign of sepsis. She said the 'signs' of sepsis were 'right in front' of Mr Humphries. The inquest heard how initially Mr Humphries called for a P3 ambulance response, which refers to a low priority. He later escalated this to a P2. Mrs James said: 'I don't know why someone doesn't get a P1 when they are so unwell.' Speaking during the inquest Mr Humphries said in hindsight he believes he dealt with Bethan appropriately. He added: 'I didn't come away from that incident thinking I did a bad job.' When the ambulance turned up Mrs James said she didn't sense any 'rush' to get her daughter to hospital. She finally arrived at 7.45pm following a 12 minute journey, it was heard. Mrs James described that on arrival at the University Hospital of Wales they had to wait in the ambulance outside the hospital for some time. She said they 'now know' there was a bed available, claiming her daughter wasn't 'deemed unwell enough' to have it. At 8.10pm Ms James was triaged before she went down to resus at 9.15pm. Mrs James said it occurred to her that her daughter was only at this point going down to where she needed to be to receive help, some three hours after the ambulance had been called. She described there being 'chaos' at the hospital as medics struggled to administer a line into Bethan, and with nobody clearly in charge of her care. Mrs James said she believes it should have been administered in her daughter's neck instead for easier access, or that she should have been taken down to intensive care. All the while this was ongoing Mrs James said her daughter was awake, could 'hardly breathe' and was 'so scared'. After some time Mrs James said an anaesthetist came down and Bethan was put to sleep. Mrs James said she felt that with that her daughter's body lost its ability to fight. She said she was asked to leave at around 9.25pm before she was told her daughter had a cardiac arrest. She recalled being told medics were working on Bethan and if she wanted to be with her as she passed away. 'As soon as I walked in, I knew she was dead,' Mrs James said. She commented that a sepsis protocol should have been put in place early on. She said her daughter 'should have had the right care straight away'. She added: 'It's heartbreaking as a mum to know that her life could have been saved. They didn't know what they were doing.' The inquest continues.
