A student died after a hospital's "serious failings" in treating her for meningitis, a coroner said yesterday.

Natalie Naylor, 20, "lost a vital opportunity" for survival when staff at the St Helier Hospital in Surrey failed to quickly identify her illness, coroner Dr Roy Palmer told an inquest at Croydon.

The University of Sussex student arrived at the hospital in January 2004 with a rash and flu-like symptoms but although suspicions of meningitis were raised, it was several hours before she was given antibiotics, an inquest was told.

Speaking after the coroner's narrative verdict Natalie's mother Christine, said the family was considering legal action and had been invited to a meeting with the hospital.

Mrs Naylor said: "I truly believed Natalie could have lived and feel someone has to be accountable for that.

"We always knew that there were serious failings and for us the hospital's incompetence denied us the chance of being with her when she died."

In his verdict, Dr Palmer described how a triage nurse had made an error in not ensuring Ms Naylor was seen within ten minutes of her mother bringing her to the casualty unit.

This and the omission to seek and act upon the results of a blood test which would have indicated her illness were serious failings.

Dr Palmer said: "There was a missed opportunity to diagnose and treat the condition but it is impossible to know it would have prevented her death."

He said that for this reason a conclusion incorporating neglect was not appropriate but he recommended the hospital should change some of its procedures and advice to staff.

When Ms Naylor became ill she returned from university to her parents' home in Wallington, Surrey.

Her mother followed advice on checking for the symptoms of meningitis and called NHS Direct, which advised her to take her daughter to hospital.

When they arrived, at around 10.30pm, a triage nurse assessed her case within minutes but did not immediately call for a doctor to see Ms Naylor and placed her on a list to be seen within an hour.

Eventually she was seen by doctors but a different condition was diagnosed and she was left on a ward without close monitoring.

It was not until 7am next day the results of a blood test taken hours earlier were noticed by a doctor.

She was immediately given antibiotics but her condition worsened and she died the following day.