Mum of teen who died after MRI scan reveals moment she was told her daughter couldn't be saved

Alice Sloman passed away on October 19 last year after a three-day battle, an inquest heard today.

The mum of a teen who died after an MRI scan has spoken of the moment she was told her daughter couldn't be saved - just hours after they played Lego cards together.

Alice Sloman passed away on October 19 last year after a three-day battle, an inquest heard today (Mon).

The 14-year-old has visited Torbay Hospital in Devon with her mum and grandmother on October 16 for the examination to be carried out under general anaesthetic.

But it soon became clear that something was wrong during the procedure so Alice was rushed to Bristol Children's Hospital for critical care.

Despite the efforts of staff there she sadly passed away.

Giving evidence at her inquest today mum Sarah relived the moment she was told her daughter was going to die.

She said: "As soon as we got there [to Bristol] they assessed her.

"They took us in a room and told us there's nothing they can do for her - she's going to die. We said we didn't have time to digest this.

"It had been nine hours since she was playing Lego cards with me - then you get told she's going to die.

"I asked them please, just try something to bring her back."

The inquest heard that staff at Bristol Children's Hospital tried in vain to save the teenager.

But she suffered several problems over the three-day period including renal failure, high blood pressure and a fluctuating heart rate.

She was put on life support but eventually died at around 2pm on October 19 after suffering a pulmonary hemmorghage hours before.

The medical cause of death is yet to be determined by the coroner, Dr Simon Fox, QC.

Giving evidence in a statement, Dr Margrid Schindler from Bristol Children's Hospital said: "It was explained to the parents that Alice was very unlikely to survive.

"They then agreed that the didn't want her to suffer anymore so she received care to make her comfortable."

The hearing was told that Alice, who had a mental age of a five or six-year-old, suffered from several issues for much of her life including autism, hypermobility, visual impairment and growth.

She took hormones for the latter for several years although had stopped prior to visiting Torbay Hospital on that fateful day.

Alice, from Torquay, Devon, had been admitted for the MRI after complaining of headaches.

Mum Sarah revealed she was "terrified" after first hearing this - because she didn't want her daughter to find out information that could hurt her.

She said: "My concern was, why are you doing an MRI?

"I said she's getting these headaches - I don't want her to hear she's getting a tumour. I was worried it might show something in her brain - I was terrified."

But she added that she wasn't concerned about her daughter having an MRI or going under anaesthetic generally as she had had one several years earlier - with no problems.

Alice eventually visited Torbay Hospital and was highly anxious ahead of the procedure.

The hearing was told that she showed both high blood pressure and a high heart rate when tested, although this was attributed to her nerves.

There was also a change in the amount of general anaesthetic she was administered after it was decided the initial dose would be too high.

She was then wheeled down to the MRI room with her mum on the trolley before Sarah left to find some food.

But when she came back it was clear something was wrong.

She said: "There were alarms going off behind the closed doors.

"The first thing was that they thought she had had an allergic reaction to the anaesthetic.

"We were allowed to see her in the MRI quickly - she was surrounded by I don't know how many people.

"We were allowed to give her a kiss while they carried on doing what they were doing to her."

The transfer team then arrived before Alice was taken to Bristol later than evening - where she later died.

While giving evidence, mum Sarah questioned whether her daughter's heart could have been enlarged by the growth hormone.

She said: "If it raises your weight and height what else is it growing?

"How can you give growth hormone to a child then not check everything else is growing? How can you stick it in a particular part of the body?

The inquest at Avon Coroner's Court continues.