Student died after using two to three ‘big bottles’ of laughing gas a day

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A scholar who might have been killed by long-term use of laughing gas was inhaling two to three “big bottles” of the substance every day, an inquest into her loss of life has heard.

Ellen Mercer, 24, was taken to hospital by the emergency providers within the early hours of February 9 final 12 months after she reported that she was unable to stroll and would fall over when she tried, Berkshire coroner’s court docket heard.

She was handled by medical workers at Wexham Park Hospital Emergency Department, however she died round 24 hours later at 12:52am on February 10.

Senior coroner Heidi Connor advised the inquest that “part of her cause of death” associated to “nitrous oxide gas”, often known as laughing gas.

The inquest heard that a autopsy report discovered Ms Mercer’s loss of life to have been brought on by bilateral pulmonary thromboembolism, deep vein thrombosis, and “long-term complications of nitrous oxide use”.

Michaela Kirtley, an emergency medical technician from Phoenix Response Services, a contractor that labored for South Central Ambulance Service, attended Ms Mercer’s house on February 8.

When she arrived on the scene, she was proven to the bed room by Ms Mercer’s boyfriend.

“I took notice of the room,” she stated.

“There were no sheets on the bed at all. There was just the duvet, severely stained. The room was bare.”

She stated the scene made it clear to her that she was coping with a “vulnerable person”.

She stated Ms Mercer “was talking as normal”, and the one one of her very important indicators that was exterior the conventional vary was her coronary heart charge, which may have been due to nervousness.

Ms Mercer advised her that she had burned her legs after spilling a gas canister on them and that she had been unable to stroll or go to the bathroom for two weeks, she stated.

She stated the 24-year-old regarded six months pregnant.

She checked the injuries on Ms Mercer’s legs, which she described as “pussy”.

Ms Mercer’s boyfriend confirmed her a field of gas canisters, which she recognized as nitrous oxide.

“I had never seen such big bottles,” she stated.

She advised the inquest that the canisters had been 600g and that Ms Mercer’s boyfriend stated she took “two to three bottles” per day, however had slowed down within the final couple of weeks.

Ms Mercer advised her she had handed out and the bottle had fallen on her legs.

An ambulance then took Ms Mercer to hospital.

At the time of the scholar’s loss of life, possession of laughing gas with the intent of getting excessive was not unlawful. It was banned by the Government, and made a Class C drug, in November 2023.

The inquest continues.