Triathlete Eleanor Penrose died '˜after Hull A&E sent her home without antibiotics'

But senior coroner Professor Paul Marks said he could not be sure that it was “probable” that Eleanor Penrose would have been saved if the drugs had been administered on her arrival at the A&E unit.

Miss Penrose died at Hull Royal Infirmary on August 13, 2015.

She went to the A&E department in the middle of the night suffering from diarrhoea and headache but was sent home after a junior diagnosed a stomach bug with associated dehydration.

Hours later - after finding out she had won a place at York University to study Maths - the GB international was rushed back to the hospital in an ambulance.

Her condition deteriorated and she died later that day of sepsis caused by a meningicoccal infection.

An inquest in Hull on Monday heard how Miss Penrose was not given vital antibiotics until two hours after she arrived at the A&E for the second time.

Infectious diseases expert Dr Mike Beadsworth - who was brought in by the coroner to give him an independent opinion - told the inquest that, given the symptoms she displayed, he could not criticise the decision to discharge her at her first A&E visit.

He did say that, in retrospect, Miss Penrose would not have died if she had been given antibiotics at that time.

The expert said that he believed Miss Penrose should have been given antibiotics as as soon as she arrived at the hospital for the second time when a number of warning signs for sepsis were present.

Dr Beadsworth told the court: “She may have survived but I can’t say that she probably would have survived.”

Pushed again on this issue by Adam Korne, representing Miss Penrose’s family, Dr Beadsworth said: “I think I have to say 50/50. I just don’t know if she would have survived or not.”

Miss Penrose, from Cottingham, East Yorkhire, was a promising international and the court heard how she competed in a triathlon in Switzerland a month before she was taken ill, swimming in Lake Geneva.

She had a bout of diarrhoea on a holiday in Florida and then began to feel unwell again on August 9. But the coroner noted that she still managed a lengthy bike ride

Coroner Prof Marks ruled that it was “not inappropriate” for Miss Penrose to be discharged at 3.50am.

But he said that she should have been given antibiotics as soon as she arrived in the hospital for the second time.

The coroner said that “crucially” he was able to say that this “may have resulted in her surviving” but said: “I am unable to a make a finding of fact that she would have survived.”

In a narrative verdict, Prof Marks said: “Had antibiotic therapy been given immediately, she may have survived.”

He said that although Miss Penrose developed a severe meningococcal infection, she never had meningitis.

A statement was read from Dr Mark Simpson, clinical director for emergency medicine at Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, who explained a range of changes that had been made to the A&E department since Miss Penrose’s deaths.

Mr Korne, for the family, asked the coroner to write to the trust stressing concerns about issues including the inexperience of the doctors in the A&E on the night when Miss Penrose first arrived which he described as “one very junior doctor reporting to another very junior doctor”.

The barrister also said the family wanted to encourage ongoing work to raise awareness of the dangers of sepsis.

Chris Long, chief executive at Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “This is clearly a very tragic case and the trust would like to offer its sincere condolences to the family of Miss Penrose for their loss.

“Miss Penrose’s case is currently the subject of a legal claim, therefore, in light of this, it would be inappropriate for us to comment further at this stage.”