Billie Wicks, 16, tragically died after doctors at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, north London, failed to spot she was having her first ever asthma attack, in September 2024.
16-year-old Billie Wicks died after being discharged from the Royal Free Hospital A&E following her first asthma attack, which doctors failed to diagnose due to inadequate observations and a lack of senior clinical review. A coroner's inquest found that the hospital was understaffed, leading to missed hourly observations, and the registrar who saw Billie was unaware of adult-onset asthma. The coroner also referenced a similar case of a four-year-old who died at the same hospital due to a lack of observations.
