Olive Martin was taken to the morgue rather than hospital, where she displayed ‘some signs of life’ before dying (Durham Police)
On the morning of 13 October 2023, 54-year-old Darlington mother-of-two Olive Martin was doing something completely ordinary: making toast before work. At some point in that routine, she suffered a seizure and collapsed in her kitchen. What happened over the next few hours is now at the centre of a coroner’s inquest, and raises stark questions about how she was treated.Police and paramedics were called to her home after she was found unresponsive. At the house, they concluded Olive had died. Instead of taking her to A&E, the crew transported her directly to Darlington Hospital Mortuary.That decision is the focus of intense scrutiny.At Crook Coroner’s Court, where a formal inquest is examining the circumstances of her death, the Martin family’s representative, barrister Tom Barclay Semple, argued that Olive went without medical treatment for around two hours at a point when her life might still have been salvageable.“If Olive had been treated in the way she should have and taken to hospital, would the outcome have been different?” he asked, according to Metro.co.uk. “There is a credible argument to say there was a window of opportunity where Olive received no treatment at all. It was clear that there was a real and immediate risk to her life. [Her life] was in the hands of paramedics.”At the mortuary, staff were shocked to discover that Olive was not, in fact, dead. The inquest heard that she showed “some signs of life” on arrival.James Donnelly, representing the North East Ambulance Service, confirmed to the court that Olive displayed signs of life while at the morgue. John Gray, appearing for Durham Constabulary, said there was evidence of “brain function” and that she was “responding to stimuli either by verbal or gripping” in the mortuary.Despite that, Olive died a short time later from brain damage caused by lack of oxygen.Coroner Jeremy Chipperfield, who is leading the inquest – a coroner-led legal process that examines how and why someone died – told the court that a key unknown is how long Olive had been starved of oxygen before emergency services arrived.Barclay Semple pointed to details from the scene to build a timeline. “We know that when Olive was found in her kitchen, she had put toast in her toaster,” he said. “That was the day when she was expected to go to work. If that was when she was having her seizure, we can extrapolate (estimate) from that.” He also suggested it would be possible to work backwards from the time of day and her body temperature.Durham Constabulary investigated Olive’s death in 2023 and later confirmed that no criminal charges would be brought.The North East Ambulance Service has admitted the case prompted an internal investigation. Its Director of Paramedicine, Andrew Hodge, previously said: “As soon as we were made aware of this incident, we opened an investigation and contacted the patient’s family. We are deeply sorry for the distress that this has caused them. A full review of this incident is being undertaken and we are unable to comment any further at this stage. The colleagues involved are being supported appropriately.”For Olive’s family, the inquest is not just about process, but about the loss of a woman they describe in vivid, affectionate terms. In a tribute released through police and reported by Metro.co.uk, they said: “Our Mam will always be remembered for her kind heart, her infectious personality and her positivity day in and day out. She was our warrior, and she will be deeply missed by every person she has ever met. We would request privacy at this difficult time.”Nearly two years on from the morning she collapsed in her kitchen, the court is now trying to piece together exactly what happened: when Olive’s seizure began, when she was first found, how quickly she was assessed as dead, how long she showed signs of life in the mortuary and whether a different decision by paramedics could have changed the outcome.The inquest into the death of Olive Martin has been adjourned until 30 January next year, when those questions, and the decisions made in those crucial hours will return to court.
