An inquest held into the death of a British mother who suffered a fatal brain injury after consuming too much water found failings by medical staff “probably more than minimally” contributed to her death.
Michelle Whitehead, 45, died in hospital on May 7, 2021 after drinking an excessive amount of water and falling into a coma.
As reported by the BBC, the mother-of-two suffered an acute mental breakdown and had to be hospitalised in 2018, and then again in May 2021.
Watch the latest News on Channel 7 or stream for free on 7plus >>
During her stay at the Millbrook Mental Health Unit in Sutton-in-Ashfield in 2021, Whitehead was observed to be drinking excess amounts of water.
A later investigation into her death found Whitehead was suffering from psychogenic polydipsia, a psychiatric disorder characterised by excessive water intake.
Staff at the hospital failed to diagnose her with this and she was allowed to have continued and unsupervised access to water in her room.
The inquest was told Whitehead was administered a tranquiliser by staff to calm her down, and they believed she had fallen asleep.
She had actually fallen unconscious and had gone into a coma.
It wasn’t until a few hours later when staff noticed a change in Whitehead’s breathing and she was admitted to King’s Mill Hospital, where she died two days later.
The inquest found the 45-year-old had died because she had become over-hydrated, which led to low sodium levels and swelling in her brain.
This ultimately caused a fatal brain injury.
Several failings made by medical staff contributed to Whitehead’s death, the inquest found.
These included staff being distracted by their phones, incomplete observations of Whitehead after she was tranquillised, and staff failing to respond quickly to Whitehead’s change in breathing.
The inquest jury said these failings led to a missed opportunity to detect that Whitehead’s condition was deteriorating, which “probably more than minimally” contributed to her death.
Whitehead’s husband Michael agreed, saying if staff had acted earlier she would still be alive.
“When Michelle (seemingly) fell asleep, staff should have realised something was very wrong,” he said, as reported by the BBC.
“Had they acted earlier,- Michelle would have been taken to ICU and put on a drip. That would have saved her life.
“By the time they realised what was happening, the same course of action was far too late.”
He described his wife, who he met at age 17 and had been married to for 22 years, as a “wonderful” mother of two boys.
“(She was) bright, positive and determined,” Michael said.
“Michelle was an amazing person, and the last few days of her life do not represent who she was.”
Chief executive of the Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust Ifti Majid said in a statement to the BBC that it acknowledged there were “aspects of care which were not of the quality they should have been”.
“On behalf of the trust, I once again extend our sincerest condolences and apologies to the family and friends of Michelle Whitehead for their loss,” he said.
“We are considering the findings of the jury and the coroner. We … will address the concerns raised so that the experience for patients now and in future is improved.”