Death of mum of three, 36, in Blackpool Victoria Hospital while on family holiday was 'natural causes'

After being found unresponsive by her husband in the family’s holiday accommodation, Lucy Broome was rushed by ambulance to the Vic but attempts to treat her proved unsuccessful.

A pathologist found the cause of death to be acute pancreatitis and Blackpool and Fylde assistant coroner Victoria Davies’ verdict at an inquest held at Blackpool Town Hall was natural causes.

Mrs Broome, from Walsall, had a history of abdominal pains over several months up to her death and had been admitted to the New Cross Hospital at Wednesfield on several occasions after suffering vomiting and diarrhoea as well as severe pains.

She was discharged with tests pending several times over a period which saw her lose two or three stones in weight, according to her family, and scans showed no evidence of acute pancreatic problems.

A CT scan at the West Midlands hospital was delayed because of a backlog and Dr Ruth Soulsby, a consultant surgeon at the New Cross Hospital, said she and four colleagues had been unable to diagnose definitively what was causing Mrs Broome’s problems.

Mrs Broome’s husband Kevin and other members of her family said they felt more could have been done to help her at New Cross and questioned the delays in the CT scan and other tests being undertaken.

But Ms Davies said that aspect of the case was not within the scope of the inquest ruling.

Dr Soulsby said she was surprised that the cause of Mrs Broome’s death was acute pancreatitis, as the examinations undertaken on her admission to New Cross had not shown any evidence of severe pancreatitis.

There was evidence of liver damage but Dr Soulsby that could have been down to a genetic condition discovered during examination which made it difficult for Mrs Broome to retain iron in her blood.

It could also have been the case that gall stones, which can develop into pancreatitis, could have been present in very small form but difficult to spot on the scans taken and possibly developed into pancreatitis later.

Dr Soulsby said Mrs Broome “had a very complicated problem” and she had referred her to a gastroenterologist in a bid to diagnose it.

While staying at a caravan park in Blackpool in October 2021, Mr Broome woke one morning to find his wife already up and saying she had pains. She decided to go back to bed, but when he went in to check on her, he found her unresponsive and called an ambulance.

Offering her condolences to the family, Dr Soulsby said she was “gutted we didn’t find what was wrong with Lucy”.

Manjit Kagla, legal representative for the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, confirmed that the scans taken at New Cross hadn’t shown any evidence of pancreatitis, adding: “There was no evidence of failure in her care.”

Mr Broome paid tribute to his wife at the inquest, saying: “Lucy was a really honest, genuine person”, while her father Roger Haddon said: “We can’t believe five doctors looked at her and couldn’t find what was wrong with her.”