Darent Valley Hospital has detailed the changes made to its A&E department after a coroner ruled a Dartford mum died due to the failures of the doctors there.

Sian Hollands, from Priory Hill, died at the hospital on November 15, 2015, despite being discharged only a few hours earlier.

Doctors had failed to spot that the 25-year-old had a pulmonary embolism, a blockage in the blood vessel that carries blood from the heart to the lungs.

At an inquest into her death, the coroner ruled that her death was due to the failures of the doctors at the hospital to examine, diagnose and treat her correctly.

A statement released by the Gravesham and Dartford NHS Trust detailed the changes the A&E department have made to ensure something like that doesn't happens again.

The trust admitted that the inquest had “highlighted a number of failings in the way that her care was delivered”.

The statement read: “We continue to extend our sincere condolences to the family and friends of Sian Hollands. We apologise to the family that Sian did not receive the level of care that she was entitled to expect when she came into A&E in November 2015.

“We have looked closely at our procedures in the emergency department and produced a detailed action plan to help prevent this type of serious incident from happening again.”

Actions the hospital have taken include an early warning system, recording vital patient observations so they can better recognise how severely a patient is deteriorating and escalate properly.

When Sian was in hospital, her health had been deteriorating but doctors had failed to read the notes provided by the nurses.

The NHS Trust said in the inquest that the A&E department was very busy that day, so staffing levels in the emergency department have increased, with more doctors in the department providing clinical support over the full 24 hour period.

Other improvements include a new general manager with nursing background to provide support, extended cover for experienced emergency department nurses, and new protocols in place to react to surges in demand.

The statement concluded saying: “Throughout this time we have worked with Sian’s family to make improvements. We were happy to welcome them to the department at the end of last year to show them how things have changed.”