Norwich mother’s sickle cell pain concerns raised at inquest

The family of a 32-year-old mother said she faced “ridicule” from hospital staff when she sought urgent care for pain caused by sickle cell disease, an inquest has heard.

Veronique Mwembo had lived with the genetic disease all her life and was being treated at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) for bacterial infections, area coroner Yvonne Blake said.

The mother of one, who lived in Norwich, had administered medication to herself incorrectly, leading to a cardiac arrest which resulted in her death on 23 January.

At an inquest into her death, her family said her mental health deteriorated after she had said she repeatedly felt dismissed by staff about her pain.

Born in 1993 in Katanga in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mwembo moved to the UK with her family after fleeing civil war in 2006.

She was described as “the kindest, most joyful, and warmest person” by her family during the inquest on Monday, which heard she had struggled with acute pain caused by sickle cell disease throughout her life.