Brighton doctors could have saved student, documents reveal

Melissa Zoglie died at Royal Sussex County Hospital in April 2023

A student's life could have been saved had doctors acted sooner, NHS documents seen by BBC Newsnight reveal.

Melissa Zoglie went to A&E at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in April 2023 with acute abdominal pain, but doctors did not realise her stomach was twisted, and she was sent home.

Trust documents show she "should have been reviewed before discharge".

University Hospitals Sussex NHS Trust said clinicians had used their "best judgement" to diagnose her symptoms.

The trust described her condition as "extraordinarily rare" in a person of her age.

The 21-year-old's mother said the hospital had "let us down".

Ms Zoglie was admitted to hospital on 17 April with abdominal pain and doctors ordered a chest X-ray to be done.

She was discharged and given medication typically used to treat stomach ulcers.

Doctors had not realised her stomach was twisted.

Ms Zoglie collapsed at home the next day and was taken to hospital in an ambulance, telling her mother she could not feel her legs.

She had a heart attack and CPR was administered.

Melissa Zoglie's parents told BBC Newsnight they did not feel the hospital had been open and honest with them

Ms Zoglie was taken in for emergency surgery, but doctors discovered her stomach was effectively dead after the blood supply had been cut off by the twisting, and there was nothing they could do.

On Monday, the coroner at her inquest concluded Ms Zoglie had died of natural causes, but highlighted inconsistencies between the recollection of the family and doctors, as well as discrepancies in the NHS trust's evidence.

'Would have been saved'

Internal documents from the trust seen by BBC Newsnight noted the "patient should have been reviewed and examined by general surgery prior to discharge".

The trust's patient safety incident investigation report concluded there had been a "missed opportunity for earlier diagnosis, had there been a surgical team review and a CT scan considered".

It also noted the "significance" of a large gastric bubble was "not recognised", and "not all clinical reviews were documented".

The coroner at Melissa Zoglie's inquest concluded she died of natural causes

A review by a senior doctor in the trust who was not involved in Ms Zoglie's treatment concluded her life "would have been saved" if surgery had been identified as "clinically necessary" when she first arrived at the hospital on 17 April.

The review added her chest X-ray had shown an "abnormally enlarged stomach" which should have been followed up with a CT scan.

Ms Zoglie's parents, Franklin and Antoinette Zoglie, said they did not believe the trust had been open and honest with them.

Mrs Zoglie said: "They've really let us down. We feel disappointed. They haven't learnt anything from the mistakes they did, so it's likely they can make the same mistakes over and over again."

The couple say they are looking to move out of their current home because it is "not the same without her".

Mrs Zoglie said: "When we're at home, we feel she's gone somewhere and she'll be back, but you wait and you realise she's not coming back."

'Devastating'

A spokesperson for University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust said it offered its "sincere condolences to Ms Zoglie's family for their terrible and shocking loss".

They said senior clinicians had used their "best judgement" to diagnose her symptoms but her condition was "extraordinarily rare".

"Such presentations are extremely challenging for staff trying to make the right decisions around tests and diagnostics, and the coroner agreed there was no clinical indication for further investigations at the time, concluding Ms Zoglie died from natural causes," the trust said.

"We understand just how devastating this has been for Ms Zoglie's family and friends.

"We have been in contact with them throughout, seeking their views on what our investigation should cover, sharing our findings with them, and offering to meet - that invitation remains open," they added.

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