A DOCTOR failed to follow guidelines leading to “missed opportunities” in the post-mortem of a Basildon teenager who died suddenly, an inquest heard.

Aimee Dulieu, 16, was found unresponsive at home and received CPR before being rushed to Basildon Hospital last July.

Despite the best efforts of paramedics and doctors, Aimee was pronounced dead at 8.44am on July 19.

An inquest into Aimee’s death took place on Friday at Essex Coroner’s Court, in Chelmsford, and concluded the cause of death was “open” due to missed opportunities in the post-mortem.

Dr Kinglsey Osayi, a consultant histopathologist, conducted a post-mortem exam on Aimee on July 25.

The inquest heard he did not follow proper guidelines and failed to seek advice from a paediatrician during the examination.

Dr Osayi said: “In conclusion I would say if I had to do this again I would not do that post-mortem exam. It is not that I wasn’t qualified, I went about it the wrong way and I did not have the support I should have had.

“My thinking was not to get that support as I thought I would find a cause of death myself.”

Michelle Brown, area coroner, addressed Dr Osayi’s decision making as she summed up the inquest.

She said: “Dr Osayi should have followed the guidelines in sudden and unexpected deaths in infant or childhood and consulted a paediatrician or refused to take the postmortem.

“It should have been the case that a full range of testing was made available by taking all relevant samples from a full investigation.”

During the inquest, Ms Brown stated she was confident Aimee had not taken drugs or alcohol prior to her death.

She said: “On July 18 Aimee was seen by both her mum and stepfather, she had a friend round which was normal. Aimee had recently started a job and its fair to say she was tired but there was no medical history of her being unwell and she hadn’t seen her doctor for a long time.

“She was drinking an energy drunk but the full toxicology did not find drugs or compounds that contributed to her death. I am satisfied on the balance of probabilities that Aimee hadn’t taken anything prior to her death.” Ms Brown concluded that the cause of death was “open due to missed opportunities in the invasive post-mortem”.