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The last words of a mother who died after calling an ambulance that never came was revealed during the case’s inquest, and it’s heartbreaking.
The deaths of a British mother and her ‘dependent’ 18-year-old daughter in Nottinghamshire have rocked the nation.
The bodies of Alphonsine Djiako Leuga, 47, and her daughter Loraine Choulla were discovered by police in Radford on 21 May 2024 - almost four months after they made a desperate plea for help.
On 2 February, Leuga called for an ambulance that never arrived.
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An official inquest was opened to investigate the case and it continues this week, which has provided unsettling details into the many ‘missed opportunities’ surround the pair’s support and care.
Choulla suffered from a series of severe learning difficulties, as well as Down Syndrome.
Therefore, she was 'entirely dependent' on her mother, reports claim.
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During the investigation, news that Leuga had attempted to call 999 for her daughter was confirmed by the Nottingham & Nottinghamshire Coroner’s Service, and her last words were detailed in the recordings for all to see.
Leuga - who was battling sickle cell anaemia prior to her passing - had called emergency services in February for her daughter.
Leuga told the call handler that, due to her anaemia, she was cold and could not move, as per The Guardian.
Just weeks before making the call, she had been treated in hospital for a lower respiratory tract infection, but was granted 'pragmatic discharge' two days later after arguing with staff that she needed to return home to her daughter, the BBC says.
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While the hospital did not agree with this, they instead urged her to return to the facility the next day- which she did not.
When she failed to check herself back into hospital in January, staff attempted to contact her, to no avail.
Sadly, on 2 February, she called an ambulance for medical assistance, gave the dispatcher her address and uttered her final words.
"Would you send an ambulance? Please come, please," the BBC reported she told the dispatcher before the call ended.
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The ambulance never came as it had been wrongly labelled as an ‘abandoned call’ by the service.
Months later, police confirmed the pair had been found dead at the property.
At the hearing, pathologist Dr Stuart Hamilton told attendees that they could have been dead from 'weeks to months' before being discovered.
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He also refused to rule out that Leuga had died the day she had called to beg for an ambulance.
The Nottingham & Nottinghamshire Coroner’s Service had previously confirmed that Leuga died of 'pneumonia of uncertain cause', whilst the cause of Choulla's death was ruled as dehydration and malnutrition.
Shockingly, it is believed Choulla died on or after 28 February, weeks after her mother when the last activity on her Samsung tablet was recorded.
The assistant coroner, Amanda Bewley stated of the case: "I'm entirely satisfied had an ambulance been sent to Alphonsine, then Loraine would not have died when she did.
"She would most probably have still been alive today."
She added there were ‘missed opportunities, particularly by Nottingham City Council social care teams, to escalate concerns’ around the pair.
Britt Jones