Nurse died days after doctors said her ‘horrendous’ chest pain was ‘indigestion’

Family members of a nurse who died after being sent home with ‘indigestion’ have said she was ‘let down in the worst way possible’.

Paediatric nurse Paula Ivers was found dead by her young daughter after experiencing ‘crushing’ chest pains.

The 47-year-old has been to Tameside Hospital, Greater Manchester, in March 2024 with the pain she described to her partner as being ‘worse than childbirth’.

She was discharged and told to buy a bottle of Gaviscon but was then found dead three hours later, Manchester South Coroners’ Court heard.

It was later revealed she suffered from an aortic dissection, where the artery which carries blood from the heart to the rest of the body tears. The aorta is the body’s main artery, so a split causing blood to escape it is often a deadly condition.

Paula’s family have now accused the hospital of poor care.

The inquest also heard that Dr Osama Ahmed found Paula was ‘low risk’, despite having a family history of cardiac problems and an abnormal ECG.

Despite CT scans being the most common way to diagnose the deadly aortic dissections, Dr Ahmed did not order one.

Doctors did order blood tests and a chest X-ray before Paula’s death.

Dr Ahmed told the inquest he now realises Paula was not low-risk and should have been hospitalised immediately, but added that aortic dissection is not a common condition.

The nurse’s sister, Lesley Ivers, also a nurse, told her inquest: ‘It is a cruel irony that Paula was a fierce advocate and defender of the NHS, yet when she needed it most, she was let down in the worst way possible.’

Paula’s partner, Simon Norbury, said the hospital had ‘reassured’ them that the pain she was experiencing was not heart-related.

Simon said: ‘We were shocked to have lost her when we were told it was indigestion and there was nothing to worry about.’

Her family has since remembered Paula as a ‘caring, smart, determined and loyal’ woman who was the ‘heart’ of the family.

‘Paula meant a lot to us all, and we all miss her terribly. We are all just so devastated that she was let down by the NHS when she needed them the most,’ her sister said.

‘The children in her care were always her focus; she was passionate about providing the best care possible for them and devoted all her working life to that aim. Her kindness and empathy will have touched countless lives.’

The coroner has since adjourned the inquest until June next year because of doctors’ strikes this week.

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