Jury attacks navy over diabetic officer left to die

Published on Wednesday 5 March 2008 20:53

THE mother of a Scottish naval officer left to die in a diabetic coma because her shipmates thought she was drunk yesterday said that her daughter had been "badly let down" by her comrades.

Lieutenant Emma Douglas, 29, was found dead aboard frigate HMS Cornwall in Plymouth on 3 October, 2004 – hours after being seen lying semi-naked on her cabin floor.

Yesterday, at the conclusion of an inquest into her death, the jury condemned the care Lt Douglas received in the days before she died and criticised the Royal Navy over her death.

Coroner Ian Arrow said at the hearing in Plymouth that he would be writing to the General Medical Council, the Royal Navy and Ministry of Defence about the jury's findings. The jury returned a "narrative" verdict – one in which cause of death is not categorised.

Last night, the dead officer's mother, Cynthia, of Huntly in Aberdeenshire, said

she was considering asking the High Court in London to review the coroner's decision to remove a verdict of unlawful killing from the options open to the jury at the inquest.

The inquest was told that Lt Douglas had been seen by a seaman "gurgling" on the floor of her cabin and naked from the waist down the day before she died. The sailor shut the door of the cabin and left her there. Shipmates assumed she was drunk.

But post-mortem tests later showed she had died from diabetic keto-acidosis, which is treatable.

Lt Douglas had gone to a navy doctor, Surgeon Commander Marcus Evershed, at the HMS Drake Medical Centre in Plymouth four days before her death, complaining of constant vomiting and massive weight loss, but had been diagnosed with oral thrush.

Speaking after the jury returned its verdict, Mrs Douglas said: "Sadly, we shall always believe she was badly let down by her naval colleagues. No-one has accepted any responsibility or been held in any way accountable for Emma's death."

The family, she said, would like to see "responsibility laid at the door of those who were to blame for her daughter's death".

"We need to have somebody – an individual or individuals – so that we can say, well, they were responsible for whatever reason," said Mrs Douglas.

"The jury have found that, when Emma attended a medical consultation at HMS Drake, she was not asked relevant questions, nor were appropriate investigations undertaken to determine the underlying cause of Emma's illness.

"The jury have also found that, after the discovery of Emma on her cabin floor was reported to the officer of the day, he failed to take any appropriate action."

Mrs Douglas added: "We hope that the evidence given at the inquest and the findings of the jury will enable the Royal Navy to review its procedures to ensure that no other member of the service loses their life in similar circumstances.

"I would like to think this would never happen to anyone's child again – but it probably will at some point."

In its verdict, the jury criticised the medical consultation before Lt Douglas's death, at which her diabetes was not diagnosed.

The actions of the shipmate who closed her cabin door also came in for criticism. If the correct procedures had been followed, they would have established whether Lt Douglas was asleep or whether alcohol or illness were factors.

Given the abnormality of the officer's state of undress, and the fact she was on the floor with noisy breathing, it should have "triggered a greater response", the jury said.

Coroner Mr Arrow told the hearing he hoped the case had highlighted how diabetes could affect a healthy young person and underlined the importance of seeking help.

A Royal Navy spokesman said lessons had been learned and procedures tightened as a result of the case and an internal inquiry. The inquiry identified the lack of a formal process at the time on HMS Cornwall for checking on those who chose to live on board during leave.