Latest news with #Coroner
The Sun
a day ago
- Health
- The Sun
Man with dementia dies after accidentally pouring washing detergent in his cup of tea instead of milk
A MAN with dementia died after pouring white-coloured washing detergent into a cup of tea instead of milk in 'an apparent confusion'. David Hayes, 82, from Bolton, accidentally ingested the liquid and was admitted to hospital the next day, on April 16. 2 He had vomited after drinking the tea and is believed to have inhaled the detergent and stomach acid into his lungs causing fatal damage. Doctors diagnosed him with pneumonitis, swelling of the lungs, thought to have been triggered by chemical aspiration. Despite treatment with antibiotics, steroids and pain relief, his condition worsened and he sadly died five days later, on April 21. An inquest held at Bolton Coroner's Court on July 17 concluded his death was accidental. The official cause was pneumonitis and aspiration due to ingestion of a chemical substance. David had Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia which affects memory, thinking skills and other mental abilities. He had previously been discharged from hospital the day before his final admission, following an earlier accidental detergent ingestion. Coroner Michael Pemberton said: 'This had occurred when he had made a cup of tea at home and put washing detergent into the cup instead of milk after an apparent confusion. "He had vomited following the ingestion and it is likely that he aspirated.' Following the inquest, the coroner issued a formal warning to the Government and major charities, urging action to prevent similar deaths. He wrote to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, Age UK, Dementia UK and the Alzheimer's Society, highlighting safety concerns around the packaging of household cleaning products. He said the detergent had been stored in a plastic bottle that resembled a milk carton, with a screw top and no childproof features. This, he said, made it 'easily accessible by a person with reduced capacity or dementia, or even a child'. While the liquid was classed as low toxicity, it still caused vomiting and aspiration in Mr Hayes, ultimately leading to his death. The corner said there was "a risk of similar events". He said this was because "the colouring of the liquid is similar to items which a person suffering from an infirmity such as dementia may get confused - here milk". He also warned that "public knowledge of these risks is not likely to be at a level where households in which vulnerable adults reside are aware of the need to safeguard detergents and make them less accessible." In a similar case two years ago, a dad-of-five died after mistakenly pouring washing detergent on a bowl of cornflakes instead of milk. Tom McDonald died in March 2023. He had been diagnosed with dementia five years earlier. Is it ageing or dementia? Dementia - the most common form of which is Alzheimer's - comes on slowly over time. As the disease progresses, symptoms can become more severe. But at the beginning, the symptoms can be subtle or mistaken for normal memory issues related to ageing. The US National Institute on Aging gives some examples of what is considered normal forgetfulness in old age, and dementia disease. You can refer to these above. For example, it is normal for an ageing person to forget which word to use from time-to-time, but difficulting having conversation would be more indicative of dementia. Katie Puckering, Head of Alzheimer's Research UK's Information Services team, previously told The Sun: 'We quite commonly as humans put our car keys somewhere out of the ordinary and it takes longer for us to find them. 'As you get older, it takes longer for you to recall, or you really have to think; What was I doing? Where was I? What distracted me? Was it that I had to let the dog out? And then you find the keys by the back door. 'That process of retrieving the information is just a bit slower in people as they age. 'In dementia, someone may not be able to recall that information and what they did when they came into the house. 'What may also happen is they might put it somewhere it really doesn't belong. For example, rather than putting the milk back in the fridge, they put the kettle in the fridge.' 2
RNZ News
2 days ago
- RNZ News
Man suddenly felt sick before fatal cliff fall in Banks Peninsula
Emergency services were called to Little Pigeon Bay Rd on Sunday. (File photo) Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon A man who died after falling from a cliff in Banks Peninsula felt suddenly sick before he fell. Emergency services were called to Little Pigeon Bay Rd on Sunday afternoon, and the man's body had to be flown out of the area by helicopter. Senior constable Anita Osborne said the man was part of a group of four who had been snorkelling and collecting seafood in the area. The group had climbed up a bank to go around a rocky outcrop due to the tide, and the man reported feeling unwell suddenly and fell onto the rocks, she said. "One of his companions went straight to the man and commenced CPR, while a second ran to an area where they could get cellphone coverage, in order to call 111. "Tragically, despite the efforts of the man's friends and emergency services staff, the man was unable to be revived," Osborne said. The death would be referred to the Coroner. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
CBS News
3 days ago
- CBS News
One person killed in crash on Rt. 481 in Carroll Township
One person was killed overnight in a fiery crash in Washington County. The Washington County Coroner's Office says the crash happened sometime around 3 a.m. when a driver was traveling south along Rt. 481 in Carroll Township. The driver lost control of their vehicle, hit part of a bridge barrier at the intersection of Rt. 481 and Rt. 2023 and when they crashed, the vehicle caught on fire, the coroner's office said. The crash and wreckage were spotted by a passing driver, who then contacted the Washington County 911 center, the coroner's office said. The coroner's office says the driver, who hasn't been identified yet, was pronounced dead at the scene. The crash is under investigation by the Carroll Township Police Department.
Daily Record
3 days ago
- Health
- Daily Record
Mum treated like 'rabid dog' before choking to death on paper
Margaret Mary Picton, known as Rita, died of aspiration pneumonia. A woman said her vulnerable mum was 'left like a dog' and mocked by staff in a mental health facility. An inquest found that neglect she suffered contributed to Margaret Mary Picton's painful and traumatic death. She died of aspiration pneumonia after choking on paper in September 2022. While Margaret, known as Rita, from St Helens, died nearly three years ago, her devastated family had to wait until earlier this year for an inquest that would shed light on the shocking neglect she suffered on the Fern Ward at Leigh Moss Hospital in Liverpool, which is operated by the region's Mersey Care mental health trust and specifically cares for patients with dementia. Rita was 76 when she died but her health had been declining for some years after she began suffering from vascular dementia, reports the ECHO. "Mum was a very straightforward person, she would always tell it like it is," explained Rita's daughter, Rachel Burkey, 51. "She was very good natured and would always give her kids whatever we needed. She was a really good mum. "But a few years ago I noticed changes in her behaviour and her mood. Then my sister called to say she was confused and had come at her with a knife. It was horrendous." Having been in a care home in St Helens for some time, Rita's unpredictable and at times aggressive behaviour led to her being sectioned sectioned under the Mental Health Act and taken to Leigh Moss on September 10 at 3am. "We got the call to say they wanted to section her," explained Rachel. "Obviously her needs would go ahead whatever we wanted and we said if this is what mum needed in order to get help then we weren't against it." On admission to the ward, it was decided that Rita should be observed by staff at least every 15 minutes because of her changing mood and previous incidents of self harming. The inquest at Liverpool Coroner's Court in January heard that staff on the ward missed opportunities to respond to Rita's erratic and dangerous behaviour, including stabbing herself with a pen. Staff did not escalate the incidents and observations were not correctly carried out. One particular staff member, who was responsible for engaging with Rita on the wards, did not make any "meaningful attempts to engage positively" with her, the inquest concluded. Worse than that, he was described as "unprofessional and disrespectful" when making gestures towards her. Rachel elaborated on the behaviour of this staff member having seen CCTV images during the inquest. She added: "On the CCTV I have seen, she is in the corner, she looks like she has been there for hours. To me, she looked like she had been left like a dog with rabies. "He (the staff member) was pretending to shoot a bow and arrow at her and pretending to shoot himself in the head. He even mimicked her when she was eating paper." The coroner Helen Rimmer concluded that Rita's observations were "limited and of poor quality", meaning further opportunities were missed to identify a deterioration in her behaviour and to escalate concerns. For one hour there were no observations of her at all due to a "communication breakdown" between staff. The coroner stated: "This was fundamental basic care and supervision, which more likely than not would have led to an escalation and review of Rita's behaviour and presentation at that time had the requisite observations been undertaken." The inquest was told that CCTV footage then showed at least five, possibly six occasions where Rita could be seen placing paper in her mouth, with staff present on all occasions. While they did intervene and remove some paper from her, they again did not escalate concerns. In the evening of September 10, one member of staff saw Rita eating paper and did not remove it from her, instead miming an action of eating paper to someone else and sat with his back to Rita, failing to properly supervise or monitor her. In her record of inquest, the coroner states: "Staff were aware of the choking risk of paper eating but failed to escalate matters, intervene, and appropriately monitor Rita. She added: "It is more likely than not that had staff been appropriately observing and supporting Rita, they would have removed all paper from her or in the alternative escalated concerns about Rita eating paper earlier with the nurse in charge who would then have removed any paper from Rita, identified any continuing concerns and reviewed risks, which would have included consideration of the level of Rita's supportive observations. This would have more likely than not prevented Rita from eating paper and subsequently choking." Rita collapsed shortly afterwards and shockingly the staff who had seen her eating paper did not tell those performing CPR on her about this, so choking prevention measures were not considered. Paramedics were called but were delayed by being locked out of the hospital building. When they did arrive, CPR had been ongoing for 25 minutes and Rita had gone into cardiac arrest twice before the paramedics were told that Rita had been eating paper prior to her collapsing. This delayed the paramedics from removing the paper, which was causing a blockage in Rita's airway. The coroner stated: "This was basic care and treatment that should have been undertaken and raised sooner. Not to have provided this basic care and information to professionals treating Rita was a gross failure which more likely than not hastened Rita's death." Rachel described these failures as "sickening", adding: "I can't believe they didn't even tell the paramedics that she had chewed paper until the very end. She had two cardiac arrests before they said anything. It is hard to think of that being her end." Rita was taken to the Royal Liverpool Hospital where she went onto develop aspiration pneumonia and died on September 26 2022. The coroner stated: "The aspiration pneumonia was more likely than not caused by Rita eating the paper, the resuscitation efforts that followed Rita eating the paper and collapsing or a combination of both. The failure to immediately notify staff and paramedics that Rita had ingested paper prior to her collapse represented a failure to render care that would more likely than not have prolonged her life. Ms Rimmer added: "Having identified a specific gross failure which clearly amounts to neglect, it is also found that the accumulation of the catalogue of missed opportunities throughout the care of Rita by those involved in her care at Leigh Moss Hospital, namely the acts and omissions mentioned above, have as a whole also amounted to neglect." Knowing that there had been failures in her mum's care, Rachel and her sister Jak fought for justice but had to wait years for the inquest to take place because of various delays. They instructed a barrister for the hearing to ensure they got the right result for their mum. "I thought, I am going to get my mum justice," added Rachel. "I am going to make them tell me what they did. This was about accountability. "We came out of that inquest and we said 'we've done you proud mum', she was neglected and people will know that. I feel like we got justice and by sharing it with the ECHO everyone will know what happened." Rachel added: "Mum was a fighter, even on that day on the CCTV she was still giving as good as she got. We will remember her fight and her spirit, she went through a lot and that's the sad thing. She shouldn't have been left like a dog in the corner, with no one doing anything except teasing her and basically watching her die. But I think mum would be looking down now and saying 'good on you girls' for us fighting like this. I can see her saying that, she was really feisty. She was a lovely mum and a strong woman who wouldn't back down from what she thought was right." In a statement, A Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said, 'We'd like to again offer our sincere condolences to the family, friends and loved ones of Margaret Mary Picton. While we are unable to comment on individual patient care because of rules governing patient confidentiality, we can confirm that we fully co-operated with the Coroner's investigation. We also accept the findings of the Assistant Coroner, Helen Rimmer and would like to sincerely apologise for the shortcomings in care. "A patient safety learning review was undertaken following the tragic circumstances which led to Mrs Picton's death. This is in line with the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF) which is the NHS approach for responding to patient safety incidents, focussing on learning and making immediate changes to ensure patient safety, through a compassionate, system based and proportionate approach.
RNZ News
6 days ago
- RNZ News
Pipe bombs found by body near Auckland motorway not treated as a criminal matter, police say
The police cordon was set up near SH1 at Highbrook. Photo: RNZ / Bella Craig Pipe bombs found near a body beside Auckland's Southern Motorway are not a criminal matter, police say. Police were alerted to the death in Highbrook about 11.30am on Tuesday and it resulted in the motorway being closed for many hours . On Wednesday, police confirmed the devices found near the body of the man were pipe bombs that could have killed people within proximity. The death of the man had now been referred to the Coroner, Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Hayward said. "Police will not be releasing detailed findings of the post-mortem, but it has indicated the man died of a self-inflicted injury." The man's death and the discovery of the pipe bombs were not being treated as a criminal matter, he said. "Police are currently unable to release further details surrounding the man, as formal identification procedures are yet to be completed." The man's next of kin had been contacted, he said, and they were being supported. "This incident has occurred in a very public place, and I understand there will naturally be curiosity surrounding what has taken place. "It's important to remember that a person has died and there is family grieving, so we ask people to be mindful of speculation." The Coroner would, in time, issue findings surrounding the circumstances that led to the man's death, Hayward said. If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
