THE 21-year-old daughter of Old Monmothian cricket star Steve James died after failing to receive the correct treatment, an inquest was told.

University of South Wales journalism student Bethan James died in February 2020 due to a combination of sepsis, pneumonia and Crohn's disease, having recently been diagnosed with the latter condition.

Bethan's mother Jane James told the hearing at Pontypridd Coroner’s Court the sepsis could have been treated, but medical staff missed opportunities and had been dismissive of her condition, despite her daughter being seen at hospital several times in the days before her death.

BBC Wales News reported that Dr Duncan Thomas, who was in charge of resuscitation at University Hospital of Wales (UHW) in Cardiff, said he was ‘astounded’ at the speed of her deterioration, and there was ‘no cure’.

But expert witness Dr Chris Danbury, an intensive care consultant at University Hospital of Southampton, said she would have likely survived if she had been treated in resuscitation more quickly.

Mrs James also told the hearing at no point were the family told about the possibility of sepsis before she was admitted to UHW on February 8, where she died next day.

Mrs James said Bethan was a "caring" and "beautiful" soul who always put others first.

Having suffered gastrointestinal issues for much of her life, she had become increasingly ill in the days before her death, she added, but was diagnosed with hemiplegic migraine on February 2, only to collapse next day.

When her parents took her to A&E, the consultant was ‘very dismissive’, despite her heart rate being ‘off the scale’, which staff blamed on a faulty machine.

Her daughter looked ‘dreadful’ at home in bed on the Saturday afternoon, and her mother called 999 leading to her hospital admission.

Mrs James said if she had been treated correctly for sepsis she could have survived.

Describing the hospital situation as 'chaos', she told the inquest: "It's heartbreaking as a mum to know that her life could have been saved. They didn't know what they were doing."

Dr Mark Willis, a neurology specialist registrar who treated Bethan twice at A&E prior to her admission, sent her home after tests to return later.

He apologised to the inquest about telling her parents a 17-year-old with similar symptoms had made a full recovery, and said he meant to be comforting.

Welsh Ambulance Service paramedic Paul Humphries said he attended Bethan's home on February 8 and summoned an ambulance crew, and suspected she could be suffering from sepsis, an infection or Addison's disease.

He would not have done anything differently, he said, but was ‘shocked’ to hear she later died.

Bethan’s father Steve James – who scored 15,890 runs in a 17-year career with Glamorgan, and who still coaches cricket at Monmouth School which he attended as a pupil – was in Dublin covering the Ireland v Wales Six Nations match as a journalist for The Times when news reached him that his daughter had fallen critically ill in Cardiff.

He wrote on social media after her passing: "Our hearts are broken. She was the most wonderfully caring and kind daughter and sister to Rhys."

The inquest continues.