Zoe Bell, a 28-year-old NHS student nurse, died from sepsis after being left in A&E for nearly 12 hours following a series of long shifts. After experiencing symptoms like a sore throat and severe chest pain, she was taken to Stoke Mandeville Hospital on December 23, 2022, but faced long delays in receiving adequate medical attention. Despite being monitored, hospital staff reassured her boyfriend, Phillip Ayres, that there was nothing to worry about, even as she began coughing up blood. After persistent urging from Ayres, a doctor finally saw Bell, diagnosing her with laryngitis, but her condition rapidly deteriorated. By Christmas Eve, she was moved to ICU but succumbed later that day to heart failure linked to staphylococcal septicaemia and other complications. The inquest highlighted the overwhelming pressure on A&E services due to high volumes of flu and Covid cases, leading to a tragic loss for the NHS.