"Her life did matter"

Plus: Funding fears and Frontierland future

Oct 09, 2024

Hello and welcome to the 59th edition of The Lancashire Lead. There was a really positive response to Sunday’s edition which featured both Tommy Greene’s story of a man who was left in years of agony as a result of hospital blunders and Luke Beardsworth’s regular column as exclusively available to paying subscribers. If you’re able to, please do consider making a financial contribution to gain access to these features - you’re support is invaluable and there’s plenty more to come yet.

We start today’s issue with a look at the tragic and entirely preventable death of a 46-year-old woman who was admitted to hospital with an asthma attack and spent 39 hours in A&E without admittance or proper assessment.

Marina Young was the first baby in the UK to have a bladder transplant, while her spina bifida meant she had to use daily catheters to empty her bladder. She also had asthma from childhood but it had been entirely manageable until the condition caused her to be hospitalised in June 2022.

The Ribbleton woman, who lived independently, could walk short distances, and would see her family every day but also had limited mobility and was taken to the Royal Preston Hospital by her sister Michelle Young.

Michelle, a former hospital ward sister, gave a full handover of her medical history, including her continence needs and her reliance on catheters and stayed in regular contact with Marina via text message.

The following evening, Marina texted Michelle to say she had been told she might need to be moved to intensive care and the next morning Michelle returned to the A&E department to drop items off for Marina, only to be told that she had died.

When Michelle went to see Marina, she found that she still had her clothes and shoes -which she could not remove without assistance - on and smelt strongly of urine.

It was later found that during her 39 hour stay, none of the six nurses who saw Marina assessed her toilet needs or assessed what sensory impacts would be caused by her spina bifida as she spent the entire time seated in a chair.

The inquest itself was covered by the likes of the BBC, ITV and the Mail’s Northern Correspondent Liz Hull. You can read those for more detailed summaries of what was heard each day.

Concluding the two day hearing, senior coroner Dr James Adeley ruled that while her death is medically attributed to asthma, it was “caused by neglect characterised both by a gross failure to provide appropriate assessment and medical care and an inadequate escalation of her management to specialist physicians or ITU.”.

Speaking after that ruling, Michelle said:

“I feel Marina’s voice has been heard and that it has been recognised that her life did matter. Our dad never recovered from Marina’s death and did not live to see the coroner’s ruling but he would have been relieved to know that justice has been done.
“All we have ever wanted is to protect other patients and even saving one life would make the pain we have been through worthwhile. That’s what Marina and my dad would have wanted and it brings me closure to know that has been achieved.”

Two weeks on, Dr Adeley has now published his Prevention of Future Deaths report which legally compels Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust to make changes to prevent a tragedy occurring in the same circumstances.

As a result, trust bosses are legally obliged to write back outlining what action they will take. A spokesperson told the Lancashire Lead:

“The Trust would like to offer its sincere condolences to the family and friends of Marina Young and apologise for the failings identified in our own investigation and the Coroner’s report.
“We welcome the independent scrutiny of the Coroner and are committed to the further actions and learning identified in the inquest.”

An infuriating trait which seems to have continued from the last Government to this one is an ability to create uncertainty with ease, whether it be in relation to the roles of civil servants or major infrastructure planning.

Under Rishi Sunak, it became commonplace for decisions to be denied and dragged out for days before inevitably being announced once the pressure had risen too high. Now, we seem to have a situation where the Government’s refusal to comment on future - or even existing - plans keep sewing doubt.

We saw it recently with a refusal to directly confirm Eden Project funding at almost the exact time £2.5m public funds were released and now there’s similar happening with previously announced Town Deal funding.

In East Lancs, five towns were awarded a combined £100m by the previous administration, with Darwen, Accrington, Burnley, Rawtenstall and Nelson each due to get £20m to fund regeneration projects over 10 years. In July the new government paused the scheme and with no further updates, some local leaders fear the funding is about to be scrapped.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Service, Blackburn with Darwen Council’s Conservative regeneration spokesman Cllr Paul Marrow said:

“I am very concerned about this delay in confirming this Long Term Plan money for Darwen. This affects the future of Darwen town centre and the viability of its businesses which are currently left in limbo.It appears that Chancellor Rachel Reeves is considering drop this entire programme promised by the previous Conservative government.”

Hyndburn Council opposition leader Cllr Zak Khan said he was “exceptionally concerned by this delay” and described a potential withdrawal of funding as a “betrayal of Accrington.”

Burnley Council’s finance spokesman Cllr Jamie McGowan said he shared similar fears the funding would be dropped. It’s worth noting that all of these dissenting voices are Conservatives and, as is almost always the case, there’s some element of political point scoring in the comments but those leading the projects need some clarity.

That would certainly go beyond the response of a spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government who simply said that further details on Levelling Up funding would be set out “in due course”.

For now, optimism and brave faces are the order of the day for those awaiting decisions. Blackburn with Darwen Council’s Labour leader Cllr Phil Riley said:

“The Long Term Plan for Darwen opportunity was presented by the previous Conservative government late in 2023, and we established a clear set of priorities, but this initiative did not have enough time to gather momentum before the General Election.
“The whole national scheme is now being reviewed as the government searches for potential savings and we wait to hear the outcome of the government’s deliberations.
“However, it’s important to stress that this has no impact on the progress of the Darwen Town Deal which continues to go from strength to strength delivering growth worth millions of pounds to the local economy.
“Any refocused Long Term Plan monies made available to the council would be used to drive the further growth of the town.”

Claire Bennett, chair of the Nelson Long Term Town Plan Board, said:

“This delay is a setback but it doesn’t change our focus or our dedication. The Long Term Town Plan fund is under review nationally. We remain hopeful we will receive some form of long-term investment for Nelson.
“We’re actively working on securing alternative resources and exploring innovative solutions that ensure our community thrives if the government decides to move away from Long Term Town funding.”

Decades on from the closure of Morecambe’s once beloved Frontierland theme park, efforts to bring the site back to use are moving forward - and it looks as though leisure will be at the heart of what comes next.

The park closed in 2000, having entertained thrillseekers since 1906, and was bought by Lancaster City Council in 2021 with a long term aim of finding someone reliable to revitalise the land.

Authority bosses met with potential investors this week with hopes the incoming Eden Project Morecambe development will enable a brighter future for the site specifically and the resort as a whole. Around 50 people attended the event, which included a site tour and information from the council on its ambitions for both here and across the town.

The event included a tour of the site and the opportunity to find out more from the council about its ambitions for the site and for Morecambe.

While the site visit has been reported by some Reach PLC titles with uncharitable headlines referencing ‘Britain’s worst seaside town’, there is genuine optimism that after years of struggling against the same issues which face other such resorts, a brighter future is on the way for Morecambe.

Councillor Caroline Jackson, deputy council leader, said:

“We already know that Morecambe is a special place but over the next few years we will see the town really begin to blossom.
“Key to it all will be building strong partnerships and working with investors to create a thriving seaside resort fit for the 21st century.
“Frontierland is an excellent investment opportunity and by inviting along these investors to see the site and the town for themselves we were able to showcase its potential.”

Among the council’s priorities for future development are the inclusion of a leisure offering and visitor accommodation, a wider economic benefit to the town, a return on its investment, and creation of public spaces that can host events and festivals.

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Finally in this section, let me send a quick good luck message to the owners of The Royal Phoenix restaurant in Oswaldtwistle. The family run business re-opened yesterday, almost two months after a car smashed through the front of the building.

If you’re in the area and planning a meal out, there’s certainly one business which could do with your support.

By Bill Jacobs

Lancashire’s devolved Combined County Authority with £20million to spend should be ‘up and running’ early next year, Blackburn with Darwen’s leader has said.

Cllr Phil Riley made the prediction to the authority’s full Council Forum meeting on Thursday. He told the meeting:

“I’m delighted that proposals to create a Combined County Authority for Lancashire have passed a crucial stage after the government signalled it was happy to proceed with the plan and support the Level Two deal.
“Myself along with the leaders of Lancashire County Council and Blackpool Council received word from Local Government and Devolution Minister, Jim McMahon MP that the statutory tests to implement the proposal have been met.
“The government now intend to bring the matter before Parliament in the coming weeks. When parliamentary approval is secured, an initial £20m capital funding will be unlocked to support innovation led growth and net zero ambitions across Lancashire, along with further powers and funding for adult education, transport, employment and skills.
“This is fantastic news for our borough and the whole of Lancashire. I think we have every hope that the Combined County Authority for Lancashire will be up and running early in 2025. Devolution is a good opportunity and really the key issue for us as a county now is to move on.”