Overview
- Janet Springall, 68, died shortly after a late assessment at Blackpool Victoria Hospital found she was in septic shock.
- She had waited more than five hours in an ambulance outside A&E because the department was extremely busy.
- A post-mortem found pneumonia led to overwhelming sepsis and multi-organ failure, and the inquest recorded a death from natural causes.
- Senior Coroner Alan Wilson issued a Prevention of Future Deaths report, noting she was likely to die even with timely care yet warning that ongoing ambulance delays put other patients at risk.
- The Care Quality Commission and the Department of Health and Social Care must reply within 56 days, with copies of the report sent to the Trust, the North West Ambulance Service and the family.