A 92-year-old pensioner who was misdiagnosed as having a chest infection by two doctors was wrongly discharged from hospital and died on the pavement minutes later, after collapsing in her son’s car on the way home.

The Daily Mail reports that an inquest heard how Evelyn Jones’ heart ruptured in her son’s car. He was performing CPR on his mother on the pavement in freezing winter weather while waiting for an ambulance to arrive when she died.

Her son – 51-year-old Robin Jones from Binley in Coventry – told the inquest that a 999 operator told him to perform the resuscitation procedure on his mother until the ambulance arrived. The incident occurred last December in some of the coldest winter weather for years.

Mr Jones had cared for his elderly mother for 10 years and is now taking legal action against Coventry’s University Hospital for negligence, alleging that staff let his mother die in an 'undignified manner'. He also claims doctors did not record his mother's complaints of pain in her chest and armpit, which is a warning sign of a heart problem.

Doctors the hospital had misdiagnosed Mrs Jones’ heart problem as pneumonia, the inquest heard. Her son had taken her to A&E where Dr Harjinder Chagger diagnosed a chest infection and carried out an electrocardiogram (ECG) test on her heart. The test returned abnormal results and Dr Chagger ordered more tests, but finished his shift before the test results came back.

An unnamed female junior doctor examined Mrs Jones and prescribed antibiotics before discharging her at 1am. Mrs Jones collapsed during the two-and-a-half mile journey home and died by the roadside as her son fought to save her.

Dr Chagger and a senior emergency doctor at the hospital, Dr Matt Robbins, both agreed that Mrs Jones should not have been discharged. However, the hospital has said it has no plans to change or review its discharge policy.

The post-mortem revealed that Mrs Jones had suffered a heart attack which neither doctor who examined her had diagnosed. The attack had caused part of her heart to die and leak blood. The cause of death was recorded as haemopericardium – a ruptured myocardial infarction and a coronary thrombosis.

The deputy coroner Louise Hunt recorded a verdict of death by natural causes.

Medical director of the hospital, Richard Kennedy, said:

'The pathologist and the coroner's inquest noted that this lady died of natural causes and admitting her to hospital would not have changed this sad outcome.

'However, we appreciate this was a very upsetting situation for her son and for this we extend our sincere apologies.’

Mr Jones’ legal representative said:

‘I am worried that, even though the hospital has given Robin a written apology, doctors told the inquest they had no plans to change its discharge policy.

'We are concerned the hospital has not learned its lesson and patients could be put at risk in future.’

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