Wife's choking death is ruled an accident

THE death of a woman who choked at a mental health hospital after she swallowed toilet roll was an accident, an inquest has ruled.

Janet Hammond, 49, died at Elizabeth Casson House in Blackberry Hill Hospital, Fishponds, on December 12, 2007.

The three-day inquest found no evidence to support the suggestion that Mrs Hammond had taken her own life, and assistant deputy coroner Gail Elliman told the jury they could not consider a verdict of suicide.

Mrs Hammond's husband Andrew had accused the hospital's staff of leaving her on her own for up to 35 minutes on the night she died while staff dealt with another incident.

But the jury heard from senior managers on the ward that there was no such incident, and that Mrs Hammond was carefully observed by staff every 10 minutes.

A post-mortem examination discovered that Mrs Hammond, from Weston- super-Mare, had potentially toxic levels of an anti-depressant in her blood, which could have suggested an overdose.

But hospital staff said it was "virtually impossible" for her to get hold of extra drugs, and a toxicologist said the high levels could be explained by the drug diffusing into her blood after her death, and from her being on a high dosage for four months.

Flax Bourton Coroner's Court heard that Mrs Hammond had been a healthy woman, but fell ill in June 2006.

She was admitted to Blackberry Hill the following January, and after that repeatedly harmed herself and made apparent suicide attempts.

But medical experts said she wasn't trying to kill herself, and instead was trying to communicate her frustrations.

The court also heard that Mr Hammond had begun proceedings to divorce his wife but promised to stay with her until she got better, and her self-harming both in and out of the hospital were attempts to sabotage his leaving her.

After the inquest, Mr Hammond said: "The verdict, the system and the hospital have let her down. It is not about suing them, it is about getting justice for Janet."

But her son, Leigh Hammond, who has not spoken with his father since his mother's death, said it was a fair verdict.

He said: "She was a wonderful mother, very caring and loving, and would go out of her way for anybody.

"It has taken three and a half years to get here, and it is closure on the matter so we can put it behind us and remember the good times."

Simon Gerard, of Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust, said: "Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Janet Hammond. As the court heard, the jury made no criticism of the care afforded to Mrs Hammond."

source: thisisbristol.co.uk

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