A mother of three who was admitted to hospital 50 times in the lead up to her death died from natural causes, an inquest has ruled.

Michelle Ashby was told her constant pain was all in her head.

The mum, of Hazlemere Drive, Gillingham, spent three years in and out of Medway Maritime Hospital suffering from the inflammatory bowel disease Crohn's.

Her husband, David Ashby, drove her to Darent Valley Hospital near Dartford, in January last year, as they had lost all faith in the care she was getting at Medway.

Mrs Ashby died seven days later, on January 18, aged 43, leaving three children – aged 24, 12 and five –and four grandchildren.

Her cause of death was initially given as pneumonia, caused by Crohn’s disease, but when Mrs Ashby’s family refused to accept this, a postmortem examination was carried out and found she had suffered multiple organ failure which stemmed from a perforation to her bowel.

An inquest has found she died of natural causes.

Giving evidence at his wife’s inquest, Mr Ashby said: “We had around 50 admissions to Medway hospital. We were in and out for the last two years of her life.

“We had an ambulance outside our house every week – the paramedics used to come in for a cup of tea. She was in constant pain and she never got better. It just got continually worse.”

Mr Ashby told the hearing during one stay at Medway hospital his wife was told by a nurse that if she did not stop screaming she would be discharged.

Mr Ashby added: “None of us expected what happened to her. We were not told her condition was life-threatening.

“I was told a lot of the pain was in her head and that she was imagining it.”

Mrs Ashby, who was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in 1992, was admitted to Medway hospital in November, 2014, but doctors said she was not strong enough for surgery.

She was discharged and two outpatient appointments with a consultant and a nurse were scheduled for December, which were later cancelled.

Mrs Ashby went to visit family in Manchester for Christmas 2014, where she was admitted to Manchester Royal Infirmary. She was discharged on December 28 and went back to her home in Gillingham.

She was still in a lot of pain and, after advice from her GP and her husband, was taken to Darent Valley Hospital in January, where she later died.

Assistant corner Kate Thomas concluded that Mrs Ashby’s death was due to natural causes.

She said: “I find there is no evidence that had there been either a multi disciplinary meeting to discuss her case, or if Mrs Ashby had had surgery that the outcome probably would have been different – possibly but not probably.

“Surgery itself in relation to Michelle would be major and complex and there would have been complications which would have detracted from her quality of life and surgery was the last resort.

“It was a balancing act. There was always a risk of perforation and the disease becoming worse.”