LONDON, April 13 A coroner's inquest ruled that a 36-year-old British woman died because of neglect by National Health Service staff.The report said Alison Christian died of a perforated duodenal ulcer in 2005 because of "gross failure to provide basic medical attention." Before she died, she made two visits to the Northern General Hospital in Sheffield. Staff failed to recognize the seriousness of her condition until she was "beyond help," The (London) Independent reported. Eventually, she called the local doctor's after-hours service complaining that she was vomiting a "black tar-like substance" and had severe pain, dehydration and constipation. The nurse said "her case was not serious enough to call out the emergency doctor, and advised her to take laxatives for the constipation," the newspaper said. Coroner Christopher Dorries said the hospital and the physician service Primecare are guilty of neglect."On the balance of probabilities, Ms. Christian would have survived had her condition been acted upon at either of those times," he said. Copyright 2007 by UPI
