A 25-year-old mum said that going to hospitalwas a 'waste of time' just hours before she died from a condition that doctors missed.

Tanya McCartney had symptoms including a high temperature, painful throat, and shortness of breath, and believed that she had caught a cold from her 11-month-old son Marcus. But despite this, her GPadvised her to go to hospital. On May 18 2023 Tanya was sent home by staff at Chesterfield Royal Infirmary after attending at the A&E, and given oral antibiotics.

However, staff at the hospital failed to spot symptoms of a deadly condition that Tanya had. When she got home, trainee mental healthnurse Tanya told her mum that the hospital trip had been a 'waste of time'. The following day, she was found dead in bed.

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Staff at the hospital failed to spot symptoms of pneumonia, which would have needed to be treated with intravenous antibiotics. Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust apologised for Tanya's death, admitting that if she'd received the IV antibiotics "Tanya would have, in all probability, made a recovery".

Now, Tanya's grieving mum Natasha has spoken out about the way her daughter was let down, saying: "Tanya has been failed in so many ways. This has broken my heart, and it kills me that they have admitted if only my daughter was given the care she deserved, she would still be alive.

"I am so angry that I have lost my daughter and that Marcus won't ever know his mum and the lovely, funny, stubborn person she was. She is missed more than I can ever describe. While Marcus gives us the reason to carry on, it's so difficult just to put one foot in front of the other every day."

Tanya, who was described as a "real tomboy", had managed to achieve her ambition of training as a mechanic, but was unfortunately unable to find a job. Instead, she found a role as a carer for mental health patients, and hoped that she could train as a mental health nurse.

"While she did hope to be a mechanic, she was a brilliant carer, everyone loved her," Natasha added. "She was so fun loving with a wicked sense of humour, just a lovely person. We clashed often, as many mothers and daughters do, but we knew how much we loved each other. Marcus was a surprise and Tanya worried so much about not being able to look after him or not being able to be a good mum - but everything clicked the second he was born. She was absolutely brilliant. Marcus really was the most amazing thing to happen to her."

Tanya began to feel unwell early in May 2023, but brushed it off as a cold she had caught from her baby son. She decided to see her GP on May 18, where she was advised to go to the Chesterfield Royal Hospital. She was driven there by her grandmother, with Natasha saying: "They were there for hours and when they came home, Tanya said it had been a waste of time as she still had no idea what was wrong.

"She went to bed, and was asleep when I went out to work the next morning. I didn't want to disturb her as I hoped she would wake up feeling much better - but only a few hours later, I got a phone call from my dad saying she had passed away. Martin rang me saying the Air Ambulance had been seen near our house and wondered which of our neighbours it was for - I had to tell him it was in fact, for his sister. We were all just absolutely broken and in disbelief. How could this have happened?"

The hospital carried out an internal investigation, initially concluding it was reasonable to discharge Tanya - but her family noticed red flags. Natasha said: "There was something in one of the statements which really rang alarm bells - it said that Tanya had been fine and drinking from a water fountain. Tanya would never drink water. Even if you'd given her some paracetamol tablets with a glass of water, she wouldn't take them until you'd put some cordial in. So something just didn't sit right."

An inquest into Tanya's death will be reopened after Tanya's family took legal advice from negligence solicitors Slater and Gordon. Solicitor Rebecca Dowse is representing Tanya's family, and said: "Tanya's death was utterly avoidable and that is a devastating reality for her family to live with. But as if the loss of a precious mother, sister, daughter and granddaughter was not enough, her family have had to fight to get the answers they need and deserve around Tanya's death - and that is absolutely unacceptable."

Kevin Sargen, Medical Director for Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said: "We send our sincere condolences to Ms McCartney's family and loved ones. We acknowledge that the care she received was not the standard that we strive for. Given the reopening of the inquest, it would be inappropriate for us to comment further, but we are continuing to work with HM Coroner to support their ongoing investigations into Ms McCartney's death."

Natasha hopes the inquest will provie the family with answers, and allow them to "grieve properly", saying: "Until we've had the inquest and I've found out exactly what happened to Tanya, I can't move on. None of us can. You can't grieve properly until you know everything."