Teen dies after 'blocked nose' on school trip
A teenager who died from sepsis after complaining of flu-like symptoms on a school trip to New York was visibly unwell before her death and could have been saved by antibiotics just days earlier, an inquest has heard.
Ana Uglow, a 17-year-old student at Bristol Grammar School in England's southwest, collapsed in her hotel room before later dying in hospital in December 2019, the Press Association reported.
Two teachers on the trip have denied claims by Ana's parents that they refused her request to seek medical attention as her condition deteriorated.
The teachers say they were told by Ana she feared she had a chest infection and a blocked nose.
Ana's friend Katie Meredith, who was on the trip with her, said Ana's symptoms were extensive in a statement read to the inquest.
“She had this cold throughout the trip and was pale compared to her usual colour," she said.
“Ana did not get much sleep as she was coughing all the time and was complaining that she was not getting enough sleep.”
She said Ana repeatedly complained of feeling tired, particularly on trips out.
After speaking to her mother by phone of her worsening condition, she was advised to ask to see a doctor.
The teachers told her to take paracetamol and if her symptoms persisted, she could go see a doctor.
They say they were never directly asked by Ana to take her to a doctor.
Ana was 'clearly very unwell'
Her condition rapidly deteriorated, and she woke one morning incoherent and had suffered a nose bleed.
"Sometimes when we were asking questions that morning she would not answer them too quickly and was clearly very unwell," Ms Meredith said, describing her eyes as "bulging".
One of the teachers was summoned to their room and reassured Ana she did not need to call her mother.
Moments later the teacher explained she slumped on her bed and her eyes glazed over.
The teacher called emergency services and performed CPR on her until paramedics arrived.
Dr Chris Danbury, a consultant in intensive care medicine, previously told the inquest Ana would not have suffered a cardiac arrest if she had been treated with antibiotics on December 17 or 18.
She died on December 19.
Ana had been suffering from a cold before the trip, but deemed she was well enough to fly to the US.
The inquest continues.
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