A 15-year-old schoolgirl died after having a seizure while she was waiting for an appointment with an epilepsy clinic, an inquest heard.
Tragic teenager Sydney-Jade Harris drowned after having a fitin the bath. She was found unresponsive by her devastated mother and step-father when they broke into the bathroom to check on her.
At the time of her death, she had been waiting about a month for an appointment at an NHS epilepsy clinic.
Following tragic Sydney-Jade's death, Salisbury District Hospital in Wiltshire has 'sped up' its referral process 'significantly', it was heard.
The period between referral and an appointment being made is now just two weeks.
Sporty Sydney-Jade was a talented snowboarder who dreamed of becoming an instructor.
Area coroner for Hampshire, Nicholas Walker, gave a narrative conclusion that she died from 'drowning in a bath after a likely seizure of unknown origin'.
The inquest at Winchester Coroner's Court heard Sydney-Jade, who lived in a home worth around £750,000 in an affluent area of Ringwood, Hants, had her first seizure in July 2023.
Schoolgirl Sydney-Jade Harris , 15, drowned after having a fit in the bath. She had been waiting for an appointment to attend an epilepsy clinic at the time of her death
Sporty Sydney-Jade was a talented snowboarder who dreamed of becoming an instructor
She was on holiday visiting her father in Guernsey at the time of this incident.
Her mother Samantha Legg said in a statement to police she had another seizure in September that year.
The teen - described as having a 'heart of gold - had type one diabetes but neither of her first two seizures or her death were thought to be linked to the condition.
Consultant paediatrician Dr Julian Sandell told the inquest Sydney-Jade had been referred to the epilepsy clinic at Salisbury Hospital, and was 'waiting for a first appointment with the team' at the time of her death.
Ms Legg said of the events of October 31 in 2023: 'I woke her up and told her that she had to wash her hair, her tutor was coming.'
This was at around 8am in the morning, and Sydney-Jade then ran a bath.
She didn't respond later on when her step-father, Matt, called her and asked her to get out of the bath.
Ms Legg said she 'used a pair of scissors' to open the door after her daughter failed to respond - and found her collapsed in the bath.
Sydney-Jade had her first seizure in July 2023 during a family trip toGuernsey to see her dad
'Matt managed to pull her out of the bath, we started doing CPR,' she said.
The couple called 999, and an ambulance arrived after about 15 to 20 minutes, and paramedics found Sydney-Jade in cardiac arrest.
They were unable to resuscitate her, and she was declared dead that morning.
The inquest heard Sydney-Jade had not been diagnosed with epilepsy at the time of her death.
Concluding, Mr Walker said: 'What we do know is that there were concerns in the family, concerns as far as the doctors were concerned, so it was at the end of September Sydney-Jade was referred to the epilepsy clinic in order to see if that was an explanation for the seizures she had been suffering.
'I am grateful that the processes of referral have been sped up significantly since the experience the doctors had with Sydney-Jade and that the period now is a two-week window where the referral and appointment was made.
'Back when Sydney-Jade died in 2023, the referral had been made about a month prior to that and she still hadn't had an appointment with the team.
'I can't say what would have happened in that appointment, it seems likely that would be an initial appointment.
The teenager had her second seizure in September 2023 before suffering a third fit in October that led to her death. Sydney-Jade is pictured with her snowboard on a dry slope
'In any event, it is difficult for me to speculate that would have made a difference in any case.'
Sydney-Jade's father Jeff Harris said 'she was a typical teenager, who lived life to the fullest'.
He said she was 'sociable' and a 'talented guitarist' who had a 'heart of gold'.
Since her daughter's death, Ms Legg has started a business in Fordingbridge, Hants, selling rubber ducks, including specially made ones which have dyed hair that match Sydney-Jade's.
On a GoFundMe to fund the ducks, her mother said that she liked hunting rubber ducks which are often hidden around cruise ships when the family would go on holiday together.
She also said that her daughter aspired to be a snowboarding instructor.
Ms Legg has set up a Facebook page titled Sydney-Jade's Travelling Ducks in which people take photos of rubber ducks across the world in memory of the teenager.
