Hospital staff thought woman, 24, struggling to breathe was 'overreacting' and spent hour in corridor with oxygen mask 'not connected to anything' before she died, inquest hears

Published: 15:23, 7 May 2026 | Updated: 15:23, 7 May 2026 Hospital staff thought a 24-year-old woman was 'overreacting' and gave her an oxygen mask that was 'not connected to anything' before her death, an inquest heard today.  University of Manchester graduate Clarissa Street spent over an hour in a corridor while suffering from a pulmonary embolism after arriving at Royal Oldham Hospital in an ambulance late on August 13, 2024.  She sadly passed away the next day, as the inquest heard how a paramedic had suggested that they thought Ms Street was 'overreacting and having a panic attack' when she was passed over to triage staff.  The inquest, which started on Wednesday and is expected to last for three days, heard how the 'talented' and 'outgoing' young woman was treated by medical staff.  Described by her family as a 'very well-liked, creative and outgoing woman' who 'enjoyed being around people and going to concerts', Ms Street had previously experienced a provoked pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis in 2017.  After the experience, Ms Street took blood thinners at various points between 2017 and 2024.  But when she arrived at Royal Oldham Hospital on the night of August 13, Ms Street was given an oxygen mask that was not connected to anything to 'try and regulate her breathing', and subsequently spent around an hour in a corridor before being transferred to higher care.  The inquest heard evidence that a paramedic had suggested that they thought Ms Street was 'overreacting and having a panic attack' when she was passed over to triage staff.  Clarissa Street, 24, died from a pulmonary embolism with a background of fatty liver disease, the inquest heard  An inquest into her death heard how hospital staff had thought she was 'overreacting' and gave her an oxygen mask 'not connected to anything' Her condition deteriorated and she died hours later due to pulmonary embolism with a background of fatty liver disease, the inquest was told.  Ms Street, from Castleton, in Rochdale, had been feeling off for the previous two days before her boyfriend called an ambulance on August 13 when she started passing out.  The graduate, who had studied Sociology and earned the Dean's Award for her dissertation, had been unable to sleep and was struggling to keep food and water down in the days leading up to her hospital admission.  When she arrived at hospital, Ms Street was given the disconnected oxygen mask and left in a corridor.  Staff Nurse Michelle Neale, the triage nurse who was on shift on the night of her death, asked for Ms Street to have an ECG, blood tests and venous blood gas tests.  Ms Neale, said the ambulance had told her Ms Street was hyper ventilating but they had regulated her breathing by talking to her.  The nurse said she 'didn't know' why she gave her a disconnected mask and accepted that she shouldn't have done it - but said it 'did regulate her breathing' and that Clarissa was 'speaking in full sentences'.  Ms Neale then passed Clarissa onto a more senior nurse and told her she would require a cubicle. However, Clarissa, who had low blood oxygen levels and a high heart rate, was then placed in a corridor for around an hour.  She added that the senior nurse had told her that Clarissa was 'young so we'll just keep an eye on her' when she was put on fluids and left in the corridor.  Ms Neale said: 'Normally I would challenge it but Clarissa was talking to me. She could speak to me in full sentences.  'I remember her coming in. She was able to talk to me and she told me that she had been on holiday to the Canary Islands.  'I went back to Clarissa on the corridor and I asked her had [the oxygen mask] helped her and she said yes.'  She added that a more senior nurse said they would give Clarissa some fluids and then reassess her with the view of sending her to an urgent treatment centre.  However, Clarissa was eventually taken to higher care to be treated by a doctor before deteriorating and sadly passing away in the early hours of August 14.  The inquest heard how, based on national guidelines, there was no need for her to be referred to haematology in 2017 at the time of her pulmonary embolism, and no need for anticoagulants drugs to be used long-term due to her embolism being provoked.  But it was accepted that in hindsight a haematology referral and further tests might have helped Clarissa and may have revealed an underlying contributing factor.  However, the inquest heard her embolism in 2024 was unprovoked and it 'cannot be said that the two are linked'.  The inquest began on Wednesday, May 6, at Rochdale Coroner's Court and is scheduled to last for three days, ending on Friday, May 8.  No comments have so far been submitted. 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