A WOMAN who suffered from diabetes died while trapped inside the back of an ambulance after its tail lift broke outside a hospital.
Sophia Bhanji, 39, was taken to Northwick Park Hospital in Harrow, north-west London, with symptoms of hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar.
When she arrived at the accident and emergency department, the tail lift of the ambulance she was travelling in reportedly stopped working.
Paramedics were unable to move the trolley bed she was being treated on inside the hospital.
A team of doctors fought for almost an hour in the back of the ambulance to save Sophia, from Wembley, when she went into suspected cardiac arrest. They were unable to save her she was pronounced dead in the ealry hours of last Wednesday.
It is understood that the faulty ambulance has now been taken out of service
Sophia’s family were contacted by the Evening Standard and are believed to not have understood the details surrounding her death before they were contacted
A family friend told the newspaper: “They had their suspicions something was wrong, because she was being treated in the ambulance for a long time.
“Now they know there was a fault with the ambulance and they will want to know how this could have affected the treatment she received.
“The uncertainty will add to their grief as they will want to know if she could have been saved.”
Her sister Rehanna said on Facebook on Wednesday: "Early hours of this morning I lost a part of my heart and life Sophia Bhanji passed away my big sister gone in heaven u r an angel I miss u so much."
The London Ambulance Service said said an investigation was under way into the incident but were unable to explain why Sophia was not carried out of the ambulance.
A spokeswoman said: "We can confirm that we were called just after 2.50am on 15 October to reports of a woman feeling unwell at Farm Avenue, Wembley.
“We sent an ambulance crew to the scene and the patient was taken to Northwick Park Hospital as a priority.
“Our ambulance crew, along with staff from Northwick Park Hospital, made every effort to resuscitate the patient but sadly she died.
“We are aware that there was an issue with the tail lift and we are looking into the circumstances of what happened."
