Sign up for our Torbay newsletter and you'll never miss a big story again Keep me updated Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Invalid Email

The parents of 14-year-old Alice Sloman who died after an MRI scan at Torbay Hospital are angry after finding the Prime Minister Boris Johnson 'misled' them over their daughter's inquest.

An inquest is due to start in Bristol next week into Alice's death. It is expected to last seven days.

Alice's parents Nathan and Sarah Sloman say Mr Johnson slammed his hand down on the table and told them the coroner would help find out who was to blame for their daughter's death.

Alice, a pupil at Combe Pafford School in Torquay, tragically passed away on October 19 2018 after she suffered heart failure during the routine scan because she had a previously undiagnosed heart problem. She suffered a catastrophic cardiac event while in the scanner which led to a lack of oxygen to her brain and caused her organs to shut down.

Alice’s condition deteriorated so rapidly she was transferred to Bristol Royal Hospital for Children where she spent three days on life support and tragically died on October 19, surrounded by family.

An inquest is due to start on Monday December 9 in Bristol and will end on December 17.

In October Sarah staged a protest outside Torbay Hospital after finding out that the then Prime Minister was there on an unannounced visit.

She recorded a Facebook Live video and only refused to turn it off after a member of Mr Johnson's security team came and offered a face-to-face meeting with the PM.

That meeting was organised later that day with the couple, Mr Johnson and Torbay's Conservative sitting MP Kevin Foster.

Nathan said: "Mr Johnson told us the coroner could decide who was to blame at the inquest and we now know this is completely untrue.

"Basically he told us what he thought we wanted to hear and now we think it was a lot of B***S***.

"Was it fabricated? Was it malicious? Was it a mistake? The point is he had his people with him - intelligent people. They should have stopped him if it was a mistake.

"I am not political. We will be in Bristol for the inquest during the general election. I have no idea if I will vote or who for. I think if I had a choice I would rather vote for the Monster Raving Loony Party now.

"Two weeks ago we were told that the junior anaesthetist will not be at the inquest - that caused us some distress and we asked how we can find out who was to blame if all of the doctors aren't there. That's when the coroner told us that they will stop anyone from incriminating themselves in an inquest and that's how we found out that the information we had been given about blame in that meeting was not correct.

"We had witnesses to the whole conversation with Boris and Kevin Foster so we know what was said."

Sarah said: "When we were first told that we would be having a meeting with Boris Johnson the jubilation that we felt was huge - after a year of feeling that every door was being shut in our face when we tried to get answers. It felt as if nobody was being open and honest with us.

"So when we were invited to meet Boris we felt like we had this one chance - our only chance after months of getting nowhere."

Nathan said: "Finally we felt like we were speaking to the man and we really listened to what he had to say.

"We asked him about the chances of changing the policies in the NHS for people with undiagnosed heart defects so that this doesn't happen again.

"If they had carried out a £3 test our daughter could have been saved.

"Afterward Boris did get back to us and told us that the NHS medical note system has now been changed since Alice's death.

"Before Alice's death if you went in for an op they wouldn't necessarily have all your background history in once place.

"Now they have been carrying out a trial in Bournemouth which is being rolled out across the whole UK in the next 12 months.

"Now if you have any other medical problems, it is all flagged up on page one of your record.

"It's just common sense but it's something we suggested.

"That was one of the 26 risk factors which we want to be looked at."

Inquests in England and Wales are limited to fact-finding. Expressions of opinion as to who might be to blame are not allowed.

They can rule on whether a death was contributed to by neglect, but individuals cannot be incriminated.

A post-mortem report by North Bristol NHS Trust, which was responsible for Alice's care, said during the scan she suffered episodes of a very low heart rate until she became critically ill.

Alice had a number of health problems including autism, being visually impaired and hypermobility.

Before her death she had been suffering from headaches so her consultant suggested the MRI scan which she received on October 16 under general anaesthetic.

During the MRI her heart rate went sky high then plummeted a number of times and her blood pressure fell through the floor.

The couple, who have three other children aged 20, 13, and seven, said: “What was supposed to be an investigation turned into a living nightmare."

The family has since all suffered with mental health problems as they struggle to grieve and try to get information about what went wrong.

They say their middle daughter, who was so close to Alice in age, is now afraid to leave her parents or the house.

The report also will say that a sedative put strain on her enlarged heart - a condition that was undiagnosed.

It concluded the general anaesthetic was the "precipitating factor" in her death.

A spokesman for Mr Johnson's office has declined to comment.