A family say they cannot rest until they have answers as to why their daughter died in A&E after she was left longer than a day without treatment.

Mother-of-three Sian Hollands was taken into Darent Valley Hospital on Saturday, November 14, last year with severe pains in her chest and down her arm.

The former drug addict, who was getting her life back on track and was ready to come off a methadone programme, had not taken her pills for three days and doctors put her symptoms down to that.

They prescribed her some methadone the next day, Sunday, and discharged her.

But Sian, of Priory Hill, Dartford, was buckled in pain and unable to walk out of the hospital.

She and former partner Carl Alleyne remained close friends and, despite being apart at the time, he went to the hospital to help her at about 4pm.

On seeing her, he went straight to a doctor to say she needed to be examined. By this point Sian was burning up and when he asked for ice Mr Alleyne said he was directed to Costa by hospital staff.

When he returned to Sian, she was behind a curtain and being treated by several doctors, having collapsed from a cardiac arrest.

Doctors discovered a blood clot, and she never regained consciousness. She was pronounced dead at 9.52pm, 27 hours after first arriving for treatment.

There have been two pre-inquest reviews into her death. The most recent, last Thursday, saw parties agree for a full inquest early next year.

The hospital has been asked to submit an admissions letter but has already admitted to seven failings in their care of Sian.

"I want to know why they didn’t feel my daughter was worth treating. I can’t rest until I have answers" - Nicole Smith

Sian’s mum Nicole Smith, 46, said: “When she got to the hospital they saw her as what she used to be, a user, not the person she had become.

“I want to know why they didn’t feel my daughter was worth treating. I can’t rest until I have answers.

“The whole process is taking months and I don’t feel we’re getting anywhere. It’s so frustrating.

“If the hospital had helped her, she may still not have survived – who knows? But I could have thanked them for doing everything they could. Instead I feel they are responsible for her death.”

Sian started using drugs in her early 20s but gave them up for the sake of her family.

A few years ago, she miscarried twins and it sent her back over the edge. However, she was turning things around again, and was in the process of enrolling to finish a hairdressing course.

Mrs Smith said: “She knew what she’d done. She never tried to hide her past but she had a big personality and a big heart. She knew what she wanted and she was getting her life together.

“There was never a dull moment when she was around.

“She had a loving family around her, three beautiful children, two sisters and some half brothers and sisters too.”

She said Sian’s children – Eden, 11, Marne, six, and Roman, four – still asked when their mum was going to come home to them.

A spokesman for Darent Valley Hospital said: “The trust is very sorry for the family’s loss and have carried out a detailed investigation.

“The family have met with several staff members over the past months and the findings of the investigation shared with them.

“However, the case has yet to be heard by the coroner, so the cause of death and any relationship to earlier events have not been confirmed.

“The trust does accept that there were missed opportunities to diagnose Sian correctly and changes have already been implemented following the investigation.”