Losing a child in tragic circumstances is devastating enough for any family, but to have unanswered questions and ‘what ifs’ in the aftermath must be incredibly difficult.
This has proven to be the case for the family of Jasmine Lapsley, a six-year-old who died after choking on a grape and waiting 25 minutes for an ambulance to arrive.
An inquest this week into the child’s death has revealed that the Lapsleys waited almost half an hour for an ambulance to arrive. When first responders finally made it to the scene, they were described as being 'panicked' and mishandling the situation.
Attending the inquest, parents Kathleen and Robert Lapsley recalled how their daughter began choking ‘about a minute’ after consuming some grapes. After intervention by neighbours and family, Kathleen revealed that the colour returned to Jasmine’s face, but the subsequent wait for an ambulance proved just that bit too long.
“Up until today I don’t know where the ambulance was,” Jasmine’s distraught grandmother, Audrey Sime, told the hearing.
Robert Lapsley, meanwhile, told the hearing that "nobody took control" in the emergency, and recalled how first responders had 'shrugged their shoulders' when asked if they had appropriate equipment with them.
The Lapsleys, of Anfield, were told today that they were facing into “a tough few days” as they awaited answers relating to Jasmine’s 2014 death.
Our thoughts are with the family as they relive their heartbreaking ordeal.
