READ MORE:A coroner has issued a warning to the NHS over A&E wait times after a 24-year-old student died from a blood clot by inhaling two to three large 'hippy crack' bottles a day.
Ellen Mercer , 24, from Gerrards Cross in Buckinghamshire, died in hospital on February 9 last year after being rushed to hospital when she lost feeling in her legsEllen with her older brother Joe, who is now 27, and younger sister Daisy, now 13 The substance - also known as 'hippy crack' - is normally bought in pressured canisters, commonly transferred to a container, e.g. a balloon, from which the gas is inhaled.
It was made illegal last year with the government listing it as a Class C drug - however at the time of Ellen's death this law had not yet come into force. The coroner said the policy for this particular NHS trust, Frimley Health, suggests the 24 hour period to carry out a risk assessment starts only when the patient is admitted into hospital.
'If current policies require VTE risk assessment to take place within 24 hours, the point at which that 24 hour period starts is not sufficiently clear and does not take long waits in emergency departments into account.'I suspect that this issue may be a national one.'