THE family of a woman who bled to death in a volunteer ambulance driver’s car will not be taking legal action.

Kidney patient Carol Metcalfe, 65, of Bedale, North Yorkshire, died in 2010 on the way to a dialysis session at Darlington Memorial Hospital.

An inquest heard last week that the tragedy was rare and happened because an old fistula – an access point created in her arm to enable dialysis – opened after a slight knock, causing catastrophic blood loss.

The Yorkshire Ambulance Service volunteer driver Jennifer Harrison had only received two hours first aid training ten years previously and had received no guidance on how to handle such an emergency.

She was unable to call 999 on a blood-soaked mobile phone and so drove to Catterick, from where an ambulance took Mrs Metcalfe to the Darlington hospital where she was pronounced dead.

Yorkshire Ambulance Service told the inquest it had introduced a new training programme for volunteer drivers in the wake of the incident.

Durham Coroner Andrew Tweddle gave a narrative verdict.

He said Mrs Metcalfe suffered a catastrophic bleed and that doctors had been planning an operation at some point to tie off the fistula.

He said: “A degree of mild trauma would have been sufficient to cause a catastrophic bleed in these circumstances.

“It would have been unlikely that any roadside medical intervention, even by a qualified accident and emergency consultant, would have led to Mrs Metcalfe’s life being saved.

“A death in these circumstances is very rare.

Mrs Metcalfe’s sister, Gloria Robinson, said that the family would not be taking legal action against the ambulance trust.

She added that the family were also pleased to learn that the doctors who treated Mrs Metcalfe, who lived at Kendrew Close, were reviewing their policy on dealing with old fistulas. “Some good has come out of it all,” Ms Robinson added.

Dr Julian Mark, associate medical director at Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust, said: “We would like to offer our sincere condolences to the family of Carol Metcalfe following her sudden death in July 2010.

“As part of our continued commitment to provide the highest quality clinical care to patients, following this incident we carried out an internal review and ensured that our Voluntary Car Service drivers are appropriately equipped and trained to provide first aid.”