The family of a 32-year-old mother said she faced "ridicule" from hospital staff when she sought urgent care for pain caused by sickle cell disease, an inquest has heard.

Veronique Mwembo had lived with the genetic disease all her life and was being treated at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) for bacterial infections, area coroner Yvonne Blake said.

The mother of one, who lived in Norwich, had administered medication to herself incorrectly, leading to a cardiac arrest which resulted in her death on 23 January.

At an inquest into her death, her family said her mental health deteriorated after she had said she repeatedly felt dismissed by staff about her pain.

Born in 1993 in Katanga in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mwembo moved to the UK with her family after fleeing civil war in 2006.

She was described as "the kindest, most joyful, and warmest person" by her family during the inquest on Monday, which heard she had struggled with acute pain caused by sickle cell disease throughout her life.

The inherited condition affects haemoglobin molecules in red blood cells.

People of African, Caribbean, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and Asian origin have a higher likelihood of inheriting the disease.

Veronique, of Beverley Road, Norwich, was regularly in and out of hospital for treatment. She worked as a childminder.

She developed mental health problems later in life, including "auditory hallucinations" which became worse during periods surrounding a sickle cell crisis, the inquest in Norwich heard.

She also gave birth to her son in 2023.

In November 2025, she was admitted to hospital after becoming unwell and was treated for bacterial infections, abscesses in her arms and other issues.

She had shown signs of recovery, but she went into cardiac arrest while video-calling her brother on 23 January and could not be resuscitated.

The coroner gave a narrative conclusion that said Veronique had administered pain medicines and antibiotics provided in tablet form incorrectly, which led to damage of her blood vessels, leading to a cardiac arrest.

Veronique's older brother Emmie Mwembo, who works at the NNUH as an associate clinical practitioner, said there had been a "clear correlation" between his sister's battle with sickle cell disease and her mental health challenges.

While specialist staff treated her very well, front-line staff in A&E and other general wards lacked the training required to recognise that her pain was "real, severe and clinically urgent", he said.

In a statement, he said Veronique overheard floor staff referring to her as a "frequent flyer", saying "she's back again" or whispering that "she's only here for the morphine".

In some instances, she had to wait up to six hours to receive the appropriate pain relief. Guidance from the NHS body NICE advises this should be done within 30 minutes of a patient presenting at A&E.

Emmie added: "[Veronique's death] has highlighted that more work needs to be done around raising awareness around sickle cell disease. We need to break down the stigma so sickle cell patients are listened to.

"She should have felt safe but she was misunderstood and hospital became a place that was very frightening."

John James, chief executive of the Sickle Cell Society, said Mwembo's experience of being seen as someone drug-seeking was "not uncommon".

He said the problem was highlighted in the society's 2021 report No-One Is Listening, which found systemic failures in the care of sickle cell patients in A&E and general wards.

At the inquest, an NNUH representative said they had been establishing a new service to support people with red cell diseases over the past year.

They said they had been providing training on sickle cell treatment to front-line staff since September this year, but it was not mandatory.

The coroner said she would write to the chief executive of the hospital trust to urge them to consider making training for the treatment of sickle cell patients mandatory.

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