A WOMAN from Earley would have died anyway despite there being a delay in response from the emergency services, an inquest has heard.
Dr Shalini Maini, 37, of Matthews Close, died at her home on June 3 last year after suffering a ruptured cerebral aneurysm and subsequent brain haemorrhage.
The inquest heard how Dr Maini had been left under a lot of pressure following the breakdown of her marriage the previous Christmas, and had been struggling with debts allegedly incurred by her estranged husband.
Dr Maini’s family, who attended the inquest at Reading Town Hall on May 11, said they believed that the stress caused by the break-up resulted in her untimely death.
The coroner, Mr Pete Bedford, described how Dr Maini’s father, Dr Malvinder Singh, had become concerned for his daughter’s welfare on the morning of her death after he had not heard from her as he usually did.
In a statement, Dr Singh said he had tried calling his daughter, but when he received no reply, he went to her home to find her car in the driveway and her front door double-locked, with the key in the door. Unable to gain access to the house, Dr Singh called the police at 11.31am requesting assistance.
The call was logged as ‘urgent’, requiring the police to respond within an hour, but when no-one had arrived after 50 minutes, Dr Singh called the fire brigade, who responded within four minutes.
A crew from Wokingham Road fire station arrived on the scene, who forced entry to the house and found Dr Maini unresponsive in her bed. The crew commenced CPR until paramedics arrived, but Dr Maini could not be saved.
Thames Valley Police officers PC Adam Young and PC Dan Olver arrived at 12.45pm, 77 minutes after the first call was received, 17 minutes later than the recommended time for an ‘urgent’ call. The matter was referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission, but Thames Valley Police was cleared of any wrong-doing.
Mr Bedford consulted with an expert neurosurgeon, Mr Graham Dow, on whether the delay in emergency response could have caused Dr Maini’s death, but Mr Dow deemed that it was unlikely the outcome would have been any different.
Dr Maini’s family pressed the coroner for evidence on whether stress could have caused the aneurysm to rupture, but again, Mr Dow had said that there was no significant research into whether stress can be attributed to such an occurrence, and the cause of death was noted as an intracerebral and subarachnoid hemorrhage, caused by an aneurysm.
Summing up, Mr Bedford said: “Dr Maini’s death was caused by natural causes, but when this was referred to me I needed to make sure there weren’t any missed opportunities to save her life.
“I sought the advice of an independent expert, I was comfortable that this area fell within his remit of expertise so I was confident of his opinion. It was his opinion that there were no missed opportunities, and that even if a response had been received the outcome would have been the same.
“We can’t say whether she would have even been alive because we don’t know when the aneurysm occurred.
“Dr Maini’s family has raised the question over whether stress could have played a part in her death, but the evidence falls short to allow me to make a link between the stressful life circumstances and the manner in which she came about her death.
“I can only go on the facts and the evidence that I have in front of me.”
Mr Bedford recorded a natural cause of death.
Dr Maini’s sister, Man Maini said: “It’s very important to us to record that we have no problem with the police. They were fantastic and supportive and we have nothing against them.”
