Family’s attack over boy’s death

An inquest into the death of a Moorside teenager who suffered a severe reaction after eating a cashew nut was halted yesterday after the family questioned his treatment by an ambulance crew.

Christopher Gould (14), whose ambition was to be a surgeon, died in July last year after sharing a late-night snack with his mother, Anne-Marie.

Minutes later Christopher, an asthmatic, complained that his tongue was itching, and took an antihistamine tablet at their home in Helmshore Avenue.

The popular pupil at Our Lady’s RC School, Royton, also used his inhaler as his tongue swelled, his speech became strange and he struggled to breathe.

His mother called an ambulance, but as she waited with her other son David and daughter Joanna, Christopher began to vomit and became distressed.

Mrs Gould and her daughter wept as they questioned why Christopher was not treated with adrenaline via an EpiPen straight away, then taken off to hospital.

And Joanna said equipment in the ambulance which took him to hospital showed a pulse and blood pressure.

But Oldham Coroner Simon Nelson said written statements to him showed Christopher had neither breathing nor a pulse when he arrived at the Royal Oldham Hospital.

Both Joanna and Christopher were St John Ambulance service trainees, and Joanna told Mr Nelson that she saw the paramedics trying to put a cannula, or tube, into his hand.

She said: “It was hard to get a vein in Christopher, like myself, and I knew it was easier in the left hand but they ignored me and went for the right.

“He was still vomiting and one of the paramedics was trying to lie him down which was making him panic more because he wanted to sit up to be sick.”

As Christopher started to go blue, the crew administered adrenaline, but Joanna said: “I can’t understand. It should come in a pre-loaded cartridge, but a paramedic drew down adrenaline (from a phial).

“Christopher started to sweat and once they got the cannula in they put sticky tape on it, but because he was sweating, the tape came off and the cannula came out and a considerable amount of blood came out. It was on my hands because I was pushing it but they weren’t aware of it. “

Mrs Gould added: “It was at least 20 minutes after he had gone into the ambulance they gave him an injection.

“We were both in the ambulance with him.”

Mr Nelson, who had written evidence from the ambulance service and Royal Oldham Hospital staff, said they showed the ambulance reached the hospital 30 minutes after arriving at Helmshore Avenue.

He said: “If I were to conclude the inquiry today I think there might be questions the family have, quite properly, which simply won’t be answered.”

He adjourned the inquest so that ambulance records can be produced and synchronised with hospital records, and ambulance staff can be called to give evidence.

Outside the coroner’s court Mrs Gould said: “We just don’t want any other families to go through this. It has been such a hard year for all of us.

“I wish I had driven Christopher to hospital, but I had had one drink, so I called an ambulance, and still ended up following the ambulance in my car.”

Joanna added: “There are questions to be answered. It is just a shame that a lad who wanted to help people and wanted to be of service is no longer here.”