A bride-to-be died from a brain aneurysm one day before her operation after spending 14 days on a waiting list.
Erina dos Santos was looking forward to her upcoming wedding when she was hit with a severe headache.
She went to a primary healthcare unit, where she was diagnosed with a migraine.
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But the pain failed to die down, so she went to A&E that evening on 6 July.
Hours after being seen, she was transferred to another hospital, where the aneurysm was first detected.
She was given emergency surgery and transferred to a fourth hospital for further tests.
Erina, 36, was given an angiogram on 7 July, which showed she needed another urgent operation.
A fifth hospital was the only facility in São Paulo, Brazil, where the procedure could be carried out.
Erina was intubated and sedated as she awaited her transfer in “very serious overall condition”.
However, because the waiting list in the public healthcare system was so long, it would be days before the surgery could be performed.
Her worried family went to court in a bid to secure the operation as quickly as possible.
They were granted an order for the procedure to take place on Friday (19 Jul), as reported on Need To Know.
The family’s lawyer, Maicon Pereira, told local media: “The court order was issued on Friday night, but there was no one available to receive it.
“The family was told that the protocol would only be processed on Monday (22 Jul).”
Erina died while waiting for the op on Sunday (21 Jul).
Her sister Aline Caldas said: “It’s very sad, very painful. This is negligence. They did nothing to save her life.
“Unfortunately, today (23 Jul) we’re burying my sister due to this neglect.”
The São Paulo State Health Department said it “regrets the patient’s death and expresses condolences to the family”.
It added: “We will conduct an investigation into responsibilities and a thorough review of the procedures followed in this case.”
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