The sister of a victim of the Shoreham Disaster died after NHS staff failed for over seven months to spot her disease, an inquest heard.
Parents Bob and Caroline Schilt, were left to endure a double tragedy when they came home to find their daughter Louise dead at home in Brighton on 5th April this year.
They had been returning from visiting the grave of their son Jacob in Clayton, West Sussex who was one of 11 men to die when a vintage jet crashed onto the A27 during the Shoreham Airshow, on 22nd August 2015.
Their daughter Louise contracted a ‘mystery illness’ – which turned out to be a rare, fatal heart condition during the Covid crisis but ‘Covid backlogs delayed a potentially lifesaving scan’, the inquest heard.
To add to the sad sequence of events – branded by mum Caroline as ‘beyond cruel’ – a coroner has now said that there were ‘a number of missed opportunities to escalate her [Louise’s] care and therefore treat her before there was an acceleration of the disease process.’
A narrative conclusion by coroner Penelope Schofield concluded opportunities were missed by doctors at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton and the Princess Royal in Haywards Heath.
The inquest heard it should have been all hands on deck to get Louise admitted to hospital for tests.
A heart scan which should have been carried out in January 2022 was missed after the MRI machine broke down.
She had to wait seven months for the rebooked appointment despite the target wait time being six weeks.
‘Unfortunately there had been a delay of over seven months in Louise having the necessary diagnostic procedure of a cardiac MRI to enable those treating her to reach the correct working diagnosis.
‘During this period there were a number of missed opportunities to escalate her care and therefore treat her before there was an acceleration of the disease process.
‘She died before she was able to be given any definitive treatment,’ the coroner said.
Cardiac consultant Dr Stanislav Hadjivassilev said it was likely an earlier scan would have had an impact on the progression of her illness.
The consultant broke down, telling the inquest he could not say if earlier testing would have saved Louise Schilt’s life.
Senior coroner Penelope Schofield asked if an earlier MRI scan would have had an impact on the progression of her disease.
‘That seems entirely plausible, yes,’ the consultant said.
Two years before her death, Louise contracted the virus during Covid.
The patient backlog caused by the crisis, technical issues with the equipment and moving machines from one hospital building to another resulted in an extended wait.
Expert witness Professor Gershan Davis told the inquest the wait was too long and Louise should have been admitted for tests and observation.
‘The best chances to discover what was wrong with Louise were missed’, he said.
‘It should’ve been all hands on deck to have her admitted.’
Head of medicine at the Royal Sussex in Brighton said investment in the NHS had not kept pace with demand.
‘There were long delays due to dysfunctional equipment and the specialised nature of the test.
‘There were long waits because of the problems that had occurred and the ability to catch up.’
The surgeon said he is confident the NHS Trust would not have the same issue now.
‘We want to get people treated as soon as possible.
‘Nine months is a shocking amount of time for somebody to wait,’ he said.
Retired teachers from Brighton Bob and Caroline carried on receiving letters and phone calls from the hospital for Louise for weeks after she died.
They received five letters from the hospital trust asking their dead daughter to confirm appointments.
The letters continued even after the coroner became involved.
Bob said he spoke to someone from the hospital who phoned to speak to Louise.
‘I told them she had died in their care and put the phone down,’ Bob said.
Paying tribute to their ‘loving’ daughter, mum Caroline said: ‘She was my rock when Bob was ill.
‘We did so much together.
‘The gap she has left in my life is immense and I still can’t believe she is gone.
‘She talked and wrote so much about Jacob after he died.
‘We found strength in each other.
‘Bob and I must now get used to being two instead of three.
‘Our children will be in our hearts forever.’