Call for new inquest into Carmel Bloom's hospital death

Carmel Bloom, 54, died in 2002 at the private Roding Hospital in Ilford after a kidney stone operation. She worked as a health controller there at the time.

Bernard Bloom called for a new inquest after a recording of a 999 call made and a list of phone calls emerged following the second inquest in 2005.

Hospital staff involved in Ms Bloom's care declined to comment to the BBC.

At the time of Ms Bloom's death the hospital was run by Bupa.

The first inquest in 2003 found she died of natural causes.

But the 2005 inquest at West London Coroners' Court found lack of post-operative care contributed to her death.
'Coughing up blood'

She was transferred to Whipps Cross Hospital in east London after the diagnosis of septicaemia which caused organ failure, the jury heard.

Ms Bloom's case was mainly handled by anaesthetist Dr Paul Timmis, consultant urological surgeon John Hines and night nurse Bridget Matthews.

Bernard Bloom said: "We have certain views which we feel are fully supported by the evidence, but they are not even vaguely compatible with the evidence or the verdict that was reached at the last inquest."
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“Start Quote

    It showed that she'd been allowed to deteriorate into a fatal condition”

End Quote Bernard Bloom Carmel Bloom's brother

He said details have changed over the years for instance at the 2005 inquest Ms Matthews said she could not call an ambulance "until Dr Timmis had assessed the patient".

Mr Hines also told the court he did not ask anyone to phone an ambulance because "I had to wait for Dr Timmis to arrive".

But a list of phone calls made from the hospital on 29 August 2002 shows the ambulance was called before Dr Timmis could have reached the hospital.

In the emergency call to London Ambulance Service Ms Matthews can be heard saying: "She's now got pulmonary oedema, she's coughing up a lot of blood and she is very unstable actually."

But at the 2005 inquest she said: "It had not got to the stage where there was visible pulmonary oedema."

Mr Bloom believes the new evidence will show that the jury was misled.

He said: "It showed that she'd been allowed to deteriorate into a fatal condition."

Medical staff involved in the case declined to comment to the BBC.