Paramedics attended Olive Martin’s address after she suffered a seizure – but instead of being taken to the emergency department, she was transferred to Darlington Hospital Mortuary, where staff discovered she was still alive
A beloved mum was pronounced dead after collapsing in her kitchen during a seizure — only to later be found alive in the morgue, a coroner’s court has heard. Olive Martin, 54, had been making toast in her Darlington home on Oct. 13, 2023, when she suffered the medical emergency.
Paramedics attended, but instead of being taken to the emergency department to receive care, Olive was transferred to Darlington Hospital Mortuary, where staff discovered she was still alive.
Tragically, however, Olive died “some time later” from brain damage, Coroner Jeremy Chipperfield told Crook Coroners Court. “The difficulty we face is that we don’t know how long she was there,” he noted. “We don’t know how long she had been without oxygen to her brain at that point.”
Tom Barclay Semple, representing Olive’s grieving family, argued there was roughly a two-hour window in which Martin received “no treatment at all” after she woke up. He suggested her tragic “outcome could have been different” if a doctor had been called.
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“We know that when Olive was found in her kitchen, she had put toast in her toaster. That was the day when she was expected to go to work,” Barclay-Semple said.
“If that was when she was having her seizure we can extrapolate from that.” He added that it would also be possible to work backwards from the time of day and her body temperature.
Barclay Semple asked the court: “If Olive had been treated in the way she should have and taken to hospital, would the outcome have been different? There is a credible argument to say there was a window of opportunity where Olive received no treatment at all. It was clear that there was a real and immediate risk to her life. [Her life] was in the hands of paramedics.”
James Donnelly, representing the North East Ambulance Service, confirmed Olive was “observed in the mortuary to have some signs of life”. And John Gray, representing Durham Constabulary, told the inquest there had been evidence of brain function in the mortuary. This included Olive responding to stimuli verbally or by gripping.
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Durham Constabulary investigated the death at the time, but confirmed there would be no criminal charges. The inquest has been adjourned until 2pm on January 30.
Andrew Hodge, Director of Paramedicine at North East Ambulance Service, previously said: “As soon as we were made aware of this incident, we opened an investigation and contacted the patient’s family. We are deeply sorry for the distress that this has caused them.
“A full review of this incident is being undertaken and we are unable to comment any further at this stage. The colleagues involved are being supported appropriately.”
Olive’s heartbroken family have paid tribute, saying: “Our Mam will always be remembered for her kind heart, her infectious personality and her positivity day in and day out. She was our warrior, and she will be deeply missed by every person she has ever met. We would request privacy at this difficult time.”
