The devastated mum of an autistic lady who died from ingesting an excessive amount of water says she would nonetheless be alive had been it not for lapses in her care.
Catherine Mitchell, 20, was supported round the clock by two employees at Springfield College Hospital, in London. Nonetheless, an inquest has heard that nobody understood the hazards of her fixed thirst for water.
Catherine Mitchell, who died in NHS care after ingesting herself to loss of life with water
Water toxicity
Mum Joanne Mitchell, 62, from Surrey, needs to see specialist autism wards and coaching on the hazards of water toxicity.
She mentioned her daughter would nonetheless be “right here right this moment“ had she acquired the “correct remedy and hadn’t confronted blatant negligence that allowed her to self-harm”.
She mentioned the employees meant to be monitoring her fell asleep on a number of events and she or he was repeatedly capable of “swallow issues and hurt herself”.
Loud, vivid atmosphere
Mitchell additionally mentioned the loud, vivid and busy hospital atmosphere was unsuitable for an autistic lady in disaster.
The inquest heard the employees didn’t know that extreme ingesting may result in water toxicity and loss of life.
The jury concluded that Catherine died in Could 2021 from “extreme consumption of water while underneath two-to-one supervision”.
It additionally dominated the possible reason for loss of life was “nursing and medical employees didn’t correctly assess the danger from water toxicity”.
Future deaths report
Coroner Paul Rogers is writing a prevention of future deaths report highlighting the shortage of companies for autistic ladies with a number of different diagnoses in acute crises.
Negligence lawyer Nadine Refaat, of the regulation agency Hodge Jones & Allen, represented Mitchell on the listening to.
She mentioned solely “significant change” within the remedy of “folks, and notably ladies with autism” will “make a distinction”.
In a press release, a spokesperson for the South West London and St George’s Psychological Well being NHS Belief, which runs Springfield, mentioned it was “deeply sorry” and Catherine’s care was “not ok”.
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Printed: 3 December 2024
