Stacey Yean was at her home in Ballarat on January 5 2016 when she started to feel ill. She was sweaty, pale and started to vomit violently.
After two hours of feeling like this her mother finally called triple zero, who told her it was most likely a 24-48 hour bug.
Still the vomiting continued and her mother called again.
Paradmedics were sent out however they didn’t take Stacey to hospital, saying she likely just had a bug she would have to “ride out” and would likely have a long wait at the hospital, reports News Corp.
The next morning, she was dead.
Paramedic Jessica Handley who treated Stacey told the Victorian Coroner’s Court that the patient didn’t appear pale or sweaty, didn’t have a temperature and her vital signs were normal.
In her view, the 23-year-old’s symptoms were not enough to admit her to hospital. A later review by Ambulance Victoria confirmed this, reports Nine News.
Ms Harding says she was “shocked and devastated” after learning of the woman’s death.
“I was incredibly shocked…” she told the court, breaking into sobs. “She wanted to stay at home.”
Stacey’s grieving family say the ambulance system failed their daughter and she would still be alive today had she not been “talked out of” going to hospital.
“The system has failed us and failed Stacey, but if she had not been talked out of going to hospital she might still be with us today,” her mother, Adrienne Yean, told the Victorian Coroners Court.
The inquest continues.
