‘We truly hope things can be changed’, Clarissa Street’s loved ones said following the conclusion of an inquest into her death

The devastated loved ones of a young woman who died amid ‘gross failings’ in her hospital care broke down in tears as a coroner concluded she ‘more than likely’ would have survived if she had received ‘appropriate’ treatment.

Clarissa Street, 24, from Rochdale, was left corridor late at night at Royal Oldham Hospital for more than a hour. She was handed an oxygen mask that wasn’t connected to anything while suffering from a ‘massive’, undiagnosed blood clot on the lungs.

A doctor later carried out two procedures that were ‘not medically required’ and ‘precipitated’ a fatal cardiac arrest – the result of a pulmonary embolism, Rochdale Coroners’ Court heard.

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Clarissa – a University of Manchester graduate from Castleton who studied sociology and earned the Dean’s Award for her dissertation – had been feeling unwell for several days. She suffered bouts of vomiting and couldn’t sleeping before she collapsed and lost consciousness.

Her boyfriend rang an ambulance and she was taken to Royal Oldham at around 11.25pm on August 13, 2024. The inquest into Clarissa’s death heard a paramedic suggested she was ‘overreacting and having a panic attack’ when she was passed over to triage staff.

She had previously experienced a provoked pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis, in 2017, and had taken blood thinners for several months afterwards.

After she arrived at Royal Oldham, Clarissa was given an oxygen mask that wasn’t connected to anything ‘to try and regulate her breathing’ and spent more than an hour in a corridor before being transferred, the inquest heard.

Recording her conclusion on Friday (May 15), area coroner Catherine McKenna said there were ‘serious failings’ in Clarissa’s triage and the initial management of her treatment.

She said Clarissa had a National Early Warning Score (NEWS) of eight, meaning she was ‘critically ill’. That fact was not escalated and she didn’t receive the ‘care and attention her condition required’, Ms McKenna added.

The coroner said decision the decision not to hook up her oxygen mask was ‘not based on recognised nursing practice’. That fact, and the ‘failure to act on observations that showed she was acutely unwell’ were ‘gross failings’, she added.

Those failings did not, however, cause Clarissa’s death, Ms McKenna said. After being transferred to higher care shortly before on August 14, a doctor failed to obtain and consider Clarissa’s full medical history; didn’t review the results of an ECG; and ‘misinterpreted’ the readings on a bedside cardiac monitor, the hearing was told.

The doctor then carried out a Valsalva manouvre – a breathing technique performed by exhaling forcefully against a closed airway – and carotid sinus massage, intended to slow heart rate and lower blood pressure.

Ms McKenna said those were not ‘medically required’; were ‘inappropriate’; and ‘precipitated’ the cardiac arrest Clarissa suffered. The coroner said those were ‘basic care failings’ that were ‘contributing factors in her death’.

Ms McKenna said she was not satisfied those errors were ‘gross failings’, and so was unable to record a finding of neglect. The coroner said that ‘in no way minimises the gravity with which the court regards these failings’.

She said she agreed with expert evidence that Clarissa would have had a ‘more than 50 per cent chance’ of survival if she had not gone into cardiac arrest.

Ms McKenna, who recorded a narrative conclusion, said that: “I find that had Clarissa receivied appropiate care and treatment from the time she arrived, a primary diagnosis of pulmonary embolism would have been confirmed. More than likely she would have survived this acute episode.”

A number of Clarissa’s family members were in court. They burst into tears as Ms McKenna delivered her findings. The coroner thanked her loved ones for the ‘dignity’ they had shown during the proceedings and told them: “I am truly sorry for your loss.”

In a statement issued following the hearing, her family said: “We are truly devastated about the loss of our favourite person Clarissa. She will forever live on in our hearts and minds. We will always be shaped by the impression she left on all of us.”

They said they believed she was ‘treated as an overreacting young woman’ and that they ‘truly hope things can be changed’ to stop other families suffering similar tragedies.

Self-made millionaire Mark Tilbury has shared the results of his supermarket price comparison experiment in which he bought the same items from Tesco, Home Bargains and a BP petrol station to find out which offers the best value for money

A self-made millionaire has revealed the results of a shopping experiment where he bought items from Tesco, Home Bargains and a BP petrol station to find out which offers the best value for money. Mark Tilbury purchased the same four items from all three retailers to settle the debate once and for all.

The entrepreneur picked up a sandwich, a 500ml bottle of Coca Cola, a large bar of Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate and a packet of hay fever relief tablets from each outlet before heading to TikTok to share his verdict. His first stop was the petrol station, which housed a Wild Bean Cafe and an M&S Simply Food store inside.

“This totalled £12.40,” Mark revealed as he returned to his vehicle. “Ouch.”

He then made his way to a Tesco Extra superstore. “This is most people’s go-to – the supermarket,” Mark continued. There, the very same four items set him back £7.40.

“That was nearly half of the price of the petrol station and I got a free packet of [McCoy’s Thai Sweet Chicken] crisps,” he enthused.

Mark wrapped up his experiment with a visit to Home Bargains. “I then went to this discount store where everything is supposed to be cheap,” he said.

But did it deliver? “As I was grabbing the items, I realised that it’s actually quite expensive,” Mark claimed. His shop came to £7.25 – just 15p less than his Tesco total.

“So the cheapest was the discount store, but they didn’t give me a free packet of crisps,” he concluded.

The results prompted one TikTok user to declare: “The way we all just trust the most expensive store to be the best quality is a scam.”

Another viewer agreed, saying: “This is a great breakdown of how ‘cheap’ branding can be deceptive. Showing the actual math behind the supermarket versus the discount store helps people shop smarter.”

Though a third observer noted: “The antihistamine he brought at the bargain store [Home Bargains] was fexofenadine rather than loratadine/cetirizine, which is always more expensive anyway even when generically branded.”

In an earlier video, Mark disclosed he left school at 16 without any qualifications or money. “No-one believed in me – especially my teachers,” he said.

And in his first role manufacturing wooden bins, he alleged he was “bullied” and earned less than £2.50 hourly. “I decided to quit and start my own business – it was a big risk,” Mark explained.

“30 years later I run two multi-million pound companies and I have grossed over £50 million. I have a dream house, but most importantly I have the freedom to spend time with my family.”

Emerging details about Hantavirus, the illness responsible for three deaths on board a British cruise ship, have raised concerns it could be transmitted via sex.

According to a 2023 study in the journal Viruses, the rat borne virus can survive in human semen for up to six years after that person became infected.

The Spiez Laboratory, a Swiss government institute tasked with fighting nuclear, biological and chemical threats, investigated a 55-year-old man who had previously had the Andes strain of the hantavirus.

Researchers discovered that although there was no longer any trace of the virus in man’s blood, urine and respiratory tract, it was still detectable in his semen 71 months later.

But does this mean you could catch hantavirus from having sex with someone who had previously fallen ill? And should we be treating it as an STI? We asked a doctor to give us the lowdown.

How can hantavirus live in semen?

‘The testes and male reproductive tract are what we call “immune privileged” sites, meaning the immune system does not patrol them as aggressively as it does other parts of the body,’ Dr Suzanne Wylie tells Metro.

‘This is partly because sperm cells are biologically unusual and could otherwise trigger immune reactions, so certain viruses are able to persist there for prolonged periods even after they have disappeared from the blood and respiratory tract.’

The study makes it clear that yes, hantavirus can survive in semen for a long time, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s highly infectious.

The GP and medical adviser for IQdoctor says viruses such as Ebola and Zika can behave in this way, and standard advice for those infected is to wear condoms whenever they have sex to prevent potential transmission.

Dr Wylie completely understands the concern that you could be exposed to the virus via unprotected sex.

‘It’s important to stress that confirmed sexual transmission of hantavirus remains exceptionally rare and the evidence is still very limited,’ she explains. ‘At the moment it’s more of a serious scientific and public health question than evidence of a widespread new route of transmission.’

If you’ve currently got hantavirus you shouldn’t be having sex with anyone because the disease can spread through prolonged contact.

If you’ve recovered from Hantavirus, it’s not standard practice for doctors to recommend you wear a condom for a period of time after the illness but Dr Wylie say that could change if more research determines the traces in semen could be infectious.

As part of practicing safe sex it’s wise to use condoms regardless of whether you’ve been unwell or not to protect against STIs.

Could this affect women in a similar way?

In short, there’s not enough evidence to know if the virus could live in the vaginal or reproductive tissues in the same way it lives in semen.

‘Biologically the testes are somewhat unique because of their immune-protected environment, so it may not behave identically in females,’ Dy Wylie says.

‘That said, researchers will almost certainly now start looking more carefully at persistence in female reproductive tissues as well.’

Could I catch hantavirus six years later?

Potentially yes, if you have sex with someone who had the virus some years ago, there’s a possibility you could catch it from them, even if they themselves have recovered.

‘That doesn’t necessarily mean large numbers of recovered patients are infectious for years, but it does mean the assumption that recovery automatically equals zero transmission risk may not always be true for every hantavirus strain, particularly Andes virus,’ Dr Wylie explains.

If you’re wondering if this means it should be considered an STI, the expert says most clinicians wouldn’t currently describe it as one.

‘This is because its primary mode of transmission remains exposure to infected rodents and their droppings, and person-to-person spread overall is still uncommon outside certain Andes virus outbreaks in South America,’ she adds.

‘However, if further studies confirm viable virus can persist in semen and be sexually transmitted long after recovery, then sexual transmission would clearly need to be recognised as an important secondary route.’ 

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There are long delays on the M4 near Newport on Friday after a vehicle pulling a caravan appears to have overturned. The accident has taken place o the westbound carriageway between junction 26 (Malpas) and junction 27 (Highcross).

There are severe delays and two lanes closed, according to traffic monitoring service Inrix. Congestion has built back to junction 23 at Magor.

There is also slow traffic on the eastbound carriageway due to onlookers.

Gwent Police said: “We’re currently dealing with a road traffic collision on the M4 Westbound between J26 and J27.

“Please avoid the area if possible and find alternative routes for your journey.”

Follow our live updates below:

Sky has upgraded its Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundle to now include HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu, as well as 135 channels and full Sky coverage of the Premier League and EFL.

Sky broadcasts more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more with at least 215 live from the top flight alongside Formula 1, darts and golf.

A few months before he made his England debut in 2017, Pickford joined Everton from Sunderland for an initial £25m.

Later that summer, Rooney, who had left Everton in 2004 and won five Premier League titles and the Champions League during 13 years at Manchester United, returned to Goodison Park.

“There was a price tag on me when I was being bought – the most expensive British keeper – so there was that pressure,” Pickford says to Rooney. “I’ve always enjoyed the pressure and I knew I had to do something early to get the fans behind me.

“In your first game we won 1-0 and you scored the header and I made a decent save in my first home Premier League game at Goodison, so I set myself off on a good stall.”

Rooney was instantly impressed with Pickford’s performances,

“At the time I thought, ‘this could be Everton and England’s number one goalkeeper for a long time’,” he says.

Nine years later and Pickford is just that – and in October signed a new contract to keep him with the Toffees until 2029.

But since he joined, Everton have not finished higher than eighth in the Premier League and they are in danger of missing out on European football for an eighth successive season.

During the interview, Rooney asks Pickford about his decision to stay.

“I don’t agree, but a lot of people say ‘why haven’t you moved on from Everton?’” he says.

“For you to be so loyal, to what you have been to the club, it’s quite rare these days.

“With your ability, you can say: ‘Well, do you want to go and play Champions League?’ But you’ve stuck with Everton. Why is it?”

A community orchard project has also been launched in the city

Belfast is not far off target with its one million trees initiative, and has announced it has recently reached just under the 300,000 milestone, and has also started a community orchard project.

Launched in December 2020, and coordinated by Belfast City Council, the Belfast One Million Trees initiative is a 15-year project aiming to plant one million native trees by 2035 to tackle climate change, enhance biodiversity, and improve air quality. The project was inspired by the Belfast Metropolitan Residents Group and is supported by the Woodland Trust, National Trust, and the Belfast Hills Partnership.

At a committee meeting at City Hall this week, council officers said reaching the 300,000 planted tree milestone was “a good news story.”

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A report on the council’s overall Tree Strategy for the People and Communities Committee at City Hall states: “Since the establishment of the One Million Tree initiative in 2020 the council and its partners have planted a total of 293,516 new trees and 4,232 linear metres of hedging, what is more the Council remains committed to achieving 30 percent canopy cover by 2050.

“It should be noted the National Trust were a major contributor to the 2025/26 tree planting figures, which came about from their successful application for funding from the Forest Service, as part of the afforestation project in the Glencairn and Ballygomartin area.”

The report does give a slight note of expectation management however. It states: “The council continues to collaborate with existing partners and is similarly striving to establish new partnerships, all of which is essential if the council is to increase tree canopy cover across the city.

“However elected members are reminded that whilst the council is committed to increasing tree canopy cover, it should be stressed the One Million Tree initiative is a city wide project, which will necessitate increased engagement with other land owners to ensure the council achieves its objectives, as set out within the Belfast Tree Strategy.”

Officers also announced that the council had launched its first community orchard project in March, after a successful Alliance Party motion, with members of the Malone Tornadoes who planted fourteen fruit trees in underused space at Shaw’s Bridge.

Since then the council has delivered several small community orchards in Ardoyne, one in the grounds of a local day nursery and another in the neighbouring community centre. Officials also planted a small community orchard with the L’arche organisation in the east of the city, a group which works directly with a network of communities of people with and without learning difficulties.

The council report states: “The council will continue its work on the establishment of small community orchards across the city at the beginning of the next tree planting season which runs from November to March each year.”

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.

Melissa Rein Lively is charged with assault by beating while Philipp Ostermann, 37, is charged with two racially aggravated public order offences and a further public order offence, after an incident at Bond Street Underground station on the evening of October 11 last year, British Transport Police said on Friday.

The garden will celebrate its anniversary on Monday, May 18, and has announced an extension to its Salford Free Tuesdays scheme, allowing all Salford residents to enjoy free entry every Tuesday until May 18, 2027.

Since opening in 2021, 86,000 Salford residents have enjoyed free visits to the 154-acre garden, while hundreds of wellbeing and community groups have found calm, creativity and connection across the site’s diverse landscapes.

Special celebrations will take place on Monday, May 18, including £5 admission for all visitors, birthday goodie bags for the first 50 arrivals, a £5 hot drink and cake offer, and £5 off plants priced at £15 or more.

One lucky visitor will also receive a ‘Golden Ticket’ in the fiftieth goodie bag, granting a year of RHS Individual Membership.

Marcus Chilton-Jones, head of site at RHS Garden Bridgewater, said: “Extending Salford Free Tuesdays is a wonderful milestone for us.

“Over the past five years, we’ve seen how much this garden means to local people, from families discovering nature together to community groups using the space to support wellbeing.

“Making sure Bridgewater remains open and welcoming to our neighbours is a core part of who we are, and I’m delighted we can continue offering this opportunity for another year.”

The extension of the Salford Free Tuesdays scheme highlights the garden’s focus on community access, wellbeing, and horticultural education.

With more than 2.49 million visits since its opening, RHS Garden Bridgewater has delivered more than 44,000 free educational sessions for schoolchildren and benefited from thousands of volunteer hours.

Paul Dennett, city mayor of Salford, said: “RHS Garden Bridgewater has become one of Salford’s great success stories, and I want to congratulate everyone involved on its fifth birthday.

“In just five years, it has grown into a place that brings people together, boosts wellbeing and showcases the very best of our city.

“I’m especially proud that Salford residents can continue to enjoy free entry every Tuesday.

“I’d encourage people of all ages to make the most of this fantastic offer, visit the garden regularly, and take pride in this fantastic garden right on our doorstep.”

More information and booking details are available from the RHS website.