M11 death: Peggy Copeman's daughter felt she was too sick to travel

Peggy Copeman was being transported from Somerset to Norfolk when she died

The daughter of a woman who died in an ambulance on a motorway hard shoulder during a hospital transfer did not want her to travel, an inquest has heard.

Peggy Copeman, 81, was taken from a residential home in New Buckenham, Norfolk, to a hospital in Taunton, Somerset, on 12 December 2019.

She died while being transported back to Norfolk on 16 December.

Maxine Fulcher said the family feared it was too far for her to travel but were told no other beds were available.

Mrs Copeman, who was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in the late 1960s, moved into a care home in 2014 after showing signs of dementia.

Mrs Copeman's daughter Maxine Fulcher, pictured with her husband Nick, said she had been concerned about her mother undertaking such a long journey

The inquest in Norwich heard her condition deteriorated in 2019.

Consultant psychiatrist for Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, Dr Ashish Pandey, said she had been "shouting, kicking, punching staff members and other residents", throwing food and talking to people who were not there.

During an assessment it was noted she "appeared frail and thin-built", he said.

It had been decided she should be transferred to a hospital for a further assessment and mental health treatment.

She was transported to Taunton's specialist Cygnet Hospital on 12 December 2019.

Four days later, she was set to be transferred back to Norfolk after developing a water infection.

However, she died during that trip close to junction nine of the M11, near the Essex/Cambridgeshire border.

In a statement read by the coroner, Mrs Fulcher said the family had been shocked when they learned her "giving and affectionate" mother was being moved to the Somerset hospital.

"We said she had never travelled out of Norfolk and this was too far for her," she said.

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Mrs Fulcher said she was told her mother had an infection and a bed "would shortly be available" at Julian Hospital in Norwich.

She said she felt the journey should wait until her mother felt healthier.

"We made a further phone call highlighting our concerns, but they were transporting mum back," she said.

"We were upset and concerned, but were reassured we would get a phone call as soon as mum was at the Julian Hospital."

Mrs Fulcher said in a call that afternoon they were told the ambulance had "pulled over... they said on the hard shoulder and were unable to say why".

She described chasing people for information and later being told her mother had died.

Dr Olufemi Solanke, who worked at Cygnet Hospital, said he was aware that Mrs Copeman did not have a physical examination before travelling to Somerset and was told that this was because she was "not co-operating".

He said that, on December 14, physical observations were done and Mrs Copeman was found to have a high temperature and a suspected urinary tract infection.

He said that he prescribed antibiotics, and that her other observations were "within normal range".

On the morning of her discharge, "she did not appear to be in any distress, she sat upright in the wheelchair", Dr Solanke said.

He said staff had tried to take physical observations "but she declined".

Asked by the coroner on what basis he assessed her as "fit to travel", he replied: "At that point it was based on my observation that she looked physically stable at the time."

The inquest, listed for five days, continues.

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