Ambulance bosses have apologised to the grieving family of a much-loved grandmother who fell off a stretcher and hit her head hours before her death. Christine Faunch, 75, from Dover, died from a ruptured spleen – but experts told an inquest this was most likely not caused when she dropped onto concrete while being carried by paramedics.
Christine, described as an ‘incredible woman’ and the ‘heart’ of her family, was mobile and independent despite battling medical conditions. She had recently returned from a cruise. However, in the five days leading up to her death, she had been feeling weak, believed to be due to a stomach bug.
Emergency call and the fall
On August 27, 2025, Christine became lightheaded and unable to leave her bed, prompting her daughter Donna to call an ambulance. When paramedics arrived about 30 minutes later, Christine could not sit up without feeling faint. She was hot and clammy but cold to the touch.
One of the South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb) crew members, Susi Lonergan, told the inquest at Oakwood House in Maidstone that she performed an abdominal assessment and found no abnormalities, while Christine said she was not in pain. The pensioner had an irregular heartbeat and very low blood pressure, so it was decided she would be taken to hospital.
Paramedics could not get the stretcher into her bedroom, so they used a wheelchair to transport her to the hallway. Christine fell unconscious while sitting in the wheelchair, and before she could be moved onto the stretcher, she stopped breathing.
The second paramedic, Julian MacDonald, said he wanted to get her into the ambulance ‘rapidly’ for treatment. In the rush, only the leg and waist straps were fastened, leaving her top half unsecured. Once outside, Christine began having seizure-like movements due to lack of oxygen. Mr MacDonald recalled: ‘I’m behind her, the stretcher raised up in front of me. What I saw was a lurch to the left and as we know she then made contact with the concrete.’ The wheels of the stretcher also kept locking, with the paramedic saying they had ‘real difficulty’ getting her into the vehicle.
Donna and a neighbour witnessed Christine’s head hitting the ambulance door and equipment inside. The ordeal left her with two lacerations to her forehead. In a statement written after the incident, Ms Lonergan sincerely apologised to the family for the fall.
Hospital and post-mortem findings
Christine woke up in the ambulance and, although disorientated, was able to speak with her daughter. She was taken to William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, where her condition began to deteriorate. Scans showed a ruptured spleen and catastrophic bleeding, and doctors told the family there was nothing they could do. A post-mortem revealed a tear on the spleen capsule and two litres of free blood.
Much of the inquest centred on whether the fall could have caused the spleen injury, as her left side hit the edge of the stretcher. Experts gave evidence, including haematology consultant Dr Allameddine Allameddine. Christine had various existing medical conditions and was taking Clopidogrel, a blood thinner that can lead to quicker bleeding in the event of trauma. She also had calcification of her arteries, making them more prone to bursting.
Dr Allameddine said: ‘(The bleeding) was probably progressive, continual. The overall clinical picture is more supportive of the haemorrhage occurring before the fall. Whether it coincided with the fall from the stretcher, it is more likely it happened before because Christine was extremely unwell before the fall.’ He and another expert, emergency medicine consultant Dr Magnus Nelson from SECAmb, said the prior trauma could have been caused by something as simple as a bout of coughing, bumping into a kitchen counter, or shifting from a bed to a chair.
Christine’s family questioned this theory, as she had not mentioned any bumps and had no visible bruises. Dr Allameddine also said it was possible that a tear had already occurred and was bleeding, and that the fall then caused it to rupture. Coroner Katrina Hepburn ultimately concluded ‘accidental death’.
Family tribute and SECAmb response
After the hearing, Christine’s family issued a statement paying tribute to the ‘much-loved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend’. They said: ‘Christine was the heart of her family. She was kind, caring and completely devoted to those she loved. The loss she has left is impossible to put into words.’ They added that while the inquest’s conclusion cannot bring her back, it allows them to look to the future and celebrate her legacy. ‘Christine will remain forever in the hearts of those who loved her. She is missed every day and will never be forgotten.’
A SECAmb spokesperson said: ‘We are sorry that during her care, our patient transfer protocols were not fully followed. We take patient safety extremely seriously and undertook our own investigation and subsequent action to ensure ambulance clinicians were reminded of the importance of securing all stretcher straps when transferring patients. While we recognise the distressing circumstances of this case for Mrs Faunch’s family, we welcome the Coroner’s acknowledgement of the steps we have taken and continue to take to minimise risks and support safe transfers of patients.’
The inquest also heard from SECAmb’s interim chief nursing officer, Joanne Turner, who said the incident prompted a review to prevent similar accidents. Ms Turner told the court: ‘We know humans make mistakes and this is about designing the system to try and reduce those mistakes.’ Safety improvements include adding a colour-coding system to chest straps to make them less fiddly, and requiring stretchers to have straps pre-clipped so patients cannot be loaded without them being undone and refastened. It is hoped this will ensure crews remember to secure patients even in high-stress situations.
