THE mother of a severely disabled teenager has backed a call from an Oxford coroner to make more doctors aware of a specialist advisory service available to them.

Eighteen-year-old Amie Oliver, of Carterton, suffered from mucolipidosis, a rare disorder that meant she was the size of a seven-year-old child.

The teenager, who needed a wheelchair and the constant care of her family, was admitted to Oxford’s Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre complaining of leg pain on April 29 last year.

Three days later the pain spread to her chest, her breathing deteriorated and she died of a heart attack.

At an inquest into her death, it emerged that doctors at the NOC had failed to seek expert advice on her condition.

Oxfordshire Coroner Nicholas Gardiner said they should have contacted the National Specialist Commissioning Group, which would have put them in touch with experts on Amie’s condition.

He said it should have been common knowledge for the doctors that such advice was on offer.

But Dr Mohammed Bakr and Dr Shahid Mahmood, who treated her at the NOC, said they did not know of the advice available to them.

Dr Bakr said: “If I knew anyone who could have given advice I would have done it immediately.”

Amie’s mother Alison, 45, who nursed her daughter throughout her life, hoped there would be increased awareness of the service.

She said after the inquest: “If it prevents another person from dying in these circumstances then Amie has played an important part.

“If they had known about it she could have been transferred to another hospital and been given a chance. In my opinion she could have lived.”

Mrs Oliver also paid tribute to her loving daughter.

She said: “She may have been disabled and in a wheelchair, but everybody she met fell in love with her.

“She just put a spell on you.”

During the inquest on Monday it also emerged that doctors took more than three hours to see Miss Oliver after nurses alerted them that her condition had worsened.

Mr Gardiner said: “Bleeps were not properly responded to, which maybe reflected a lack of staff on the bank holiday weekend.”

Recording a narrative verdict, Mr Gardiner concluded Miss Oliver died of a natural causes.

He said: “Sadly Amie suffered from this very rare condition.

“The fact that it is so rare of course causes problems, and one could not expect every doctor to be aware of the full condition.

“But there does exist a specialist unit to give advice and it does appear to me that the services have not been sufficiently broadcast and understood.”

Last night NOC chief executive Jan Fowler said: “The trust wishes to express its sincere regret to the Oliver family for the death of Amie while in our care.

“This was a tragic event and we have spent considerable time reviewing the events surrounding Amie’s deteriorating condition, and subsequent death.”