Haunting last words of mum, 49, as she lay dying from internal bleeding after docs missed ‘critical’ blood tests

James told District Coroner’s Court that his wife appeared to be very weak, but still reassured her she would be getting stronger every day.

"She said, no, her body was telling her, ‘I’m dying’.” That was “the last thing I heard from her,” he said.

The inquest heard that, on the day she died, "obviously abnormal" blood test results were not promptly relayed to the medical team caring for the mum.

After two unanswered calls from the hospital lab to her ward, no further attempts were made to contact the team.

The inquest revealed that the ward was only a five-minute walk from the lab.

Surgeon Donal Maguire, who works at St Vincent’s, said the results suggested Eilis had developed an internal bleed.

He said that if the medical team had been notified it would have triggered an intervention.

The inquest also heard that failing to relay the abnormal results to the medical team breached protocol at the time, leading to a review and the implementation of new measures.

The test results were ready shortly after noon on October 17 but weren’t noticed by the medical team until seven hours later, when a nurse checked the hospital system.

Immediate measures were taken to treat Eilis, but she was tragically pronounced dead shortly after 9pm on October 17.

Mr Maguire said the blood results suggested Eilis had likely suffered a minor internal bleed overnight on October 16.

But she said there were no blood pressure, pulse or other changes that would have otherwise triggered cause for concern.

Then, on October 17, she collapsed when there must have been a “massive bleed” after an artery ruptured.

It was not “a foreseeable deterioration” before that, he said.