THE FAMILY of a young woman who died of a blood clot after being sent home from hospital suffered another blow after being told the inquest into her death has been delayed again until 2026.
Now, they have launched a petition demanding a timely coroners hearing for their lost loved one so they can finally get closure almost three years on from her death.
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Primary school teacher Dena Collins, 28, went to an urgent care unit suffering leg pain and fever, even telling medics she thought she had a blood clot.
Despite this she was sent home from hospital and collapsed and died the next day.
The inquest initially opened in October 2023 and was set to be heard on January 27 this year.
But after sitting for just a few hours the case had to be halted again due to late submission of evidence from the hospital.
A three-day-inquest was then rescheduled for June but was adjourned once more by the coroner just a month before.
Now, Dena’s family have been told it will not be held until sometime in 2026.
Dena’s sister Clare, 34, and parents Irene, 62 and Dean, 59, from Eltham, south-east London, are urging the inquest to be held as soon as possible so they can begin to grieve.
Clare said: “We are living our worst nightmare. But this is making it 1,000 times harder.
“There have been so many delays.
“We had one hearing which was set aside for a day and the hospital submitted their evidence the night before and on the morning of the day the case was meant to be held.
“The inquest had to be delayed so the evidence could be reviewed by the coroner.
“Three days were then set aside in June to give everyone time to review the new evidence. But then this has now been adjourned and will not be heard until some time in 2026.
“There is no definitive date.”
Dena died at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich, south east London from a pulmonary embolism caused by a blood clot on January 12, 2023.
Three days earlier she had visited her local GP, complaining of a pain in her left leg.
She had also texted friends and family suspecting she had a blood clot after Googling her symptoms and potential side effects of antibiotics she was taking.
Despite her concerns, a nurse at the GP diagnosed her with muscular pain, the inquest opening held in January this year was told.
When she arrived at the hospital the day before her death she was using a crutch to walk because of the pain, limping and short of breath.
Even though the possibility of a blood clot was noted and positive results from a test to identify clots was recorded, she was misdiagnosed with a possible ruptured cyst and told to return the following day for a scan.
The next morning she collapsed at home, with her Dad performing CPR before an ambulance arrived and rushed her back to the same hospital.
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She died a few hours later.
Clare said: “Dena died nearly three years ago.
“She was only 28. She deserves to have this inquest so we can find out the truth.
She added: “We still do not have a death certificate. It means polling cards still come through the door at my parents’ home for her. It knocks the wind out of my mum and dad.
“We haven’t had the chance to grieve her.”
- You can sign Dena Collins’ family’s petition here
