Mum and teenage daughter found dead four months after they called 999 for ambulance
An inquest has concluded into the deaths of a British mother and her 18-year-old disabled daughter, found dead in their Nottinghamshire home last year.
Police in Radford discovered the remains of Alphonsine Djiako Leuga, 47, and her daughter, Loraine Choulla, on 21 May 2024, several months after they were last known to have sought help.
According to the BBC, Leuga is believed to have died of pneumonia in February, while Choulla died of malnutrition and dehydration weeks later. It is also thought that the two had been dead for some time.
It was revealed in court this week that the mother and daughter had made a phone call for an ambulance that never arrived at their address on 2 February.
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The Nottingham & Nottinghamshire Coroner’s Service confirmed that Leuga called 999 for her daughter and told the dispatcher that she needed help.
Reports state that Choulla had severe learning difficulties and Down Syndrome, leaving her entirely dependent on her mother.
Leuga had also been treated in hospital one month before the call for a lower respiratory tract infection, but was then granted 'pragmatic discharge' two days later, after which she was adamant that she needed to return home to her daughter, the BBC says.
While the hospital disagreed with this, staff suggested that she return the following day for treatment; however, when Leuga did not check back into the hospital in January, repeated unsuccessful attempts were made to contact her.
During the phone call with the ambulance dispatcher on 2 February, Leuga was heard asking the dispatcher: "Would you send an ambulance? Please come, please," and provided her address before the call ended.
Leuga, who was suffering from sickle cell anaemia before her death, had also told the call handler she was cold and couldn’t move, The Guardian reports.
As for why the ambulance didn't visit their address, Susan Jevons, the head of patient safety at the East Midlands Ambulance Service, told the court that the call was believed to be 'abandoned', which led the emergency medical adviser to 'close the call down'.
Yesterday (25 July), the Nottingham Assistant Coroner, Amanda Bewley, said that had the ambulance arrived at the house, they would 'still be alive'.
She said: "I am entirely satisfied that had East Midlands Ambulance Service sent an ambulance when she called, Loraine would not have died when she died.
“She would most probably still be alive. I am clear that Alphonsine died first and Loraine died afterwards.”
Bewley also said that the authorities had 'missed opportunities' to push concerns surrounding them after it was revealed that Leuga had made the decision to restrict access to support services - a reason of which was never made clear.
Following the inquest's conclusion and Bewley’s remarks, Keeley Sheldon, director of quality at East Midlands Ambulance Service, apologised to Leuga and Choulla's family, saying: "I am truly sorry that we did not respond as we should have to Alphonsine Djiako Leuga and Lorraine Choulla. Our deepest condolences remain with their family.
"We fully accept the Coroner's findings. After our internal investigation, we made changes to our policies, procedures and training to ensure this does not happen in future."
A Nottingham City Council spokesperson also told the BBC: "We take our responsibilities seriously and have already undertaken a review of relevant policies, procedures and practices to ensure any necessary improvements are made, and that learning is embedded across our services.
"We are committed to acting decisively and continuing to work closely with our partners to safeguard the wellbeing of all Nottingham's citizens.
"We would like to extend our sincere condolences to the Leuga and Choulla families. Our thoughts are with them at this extremely difficult time."
LADbible reached out to the East Midlands Ambulance Service for comment.
Britt Jones