Lancashire coroner probes death of woman, 39, who died in Bamber Bridge care home tragedy
A resident who died after collapsing at a Lancashire care home may have obtained drugs during a trip outside, an inquest was told.
Maryanne Keefe was living at the Brookhaven care home, Gough Lane, Bamber Bridge.
Preston Coroners Court heard that Maryanne, aged 39, died of drug toxicity.
She collapsed in her room and was taken to hospital, where she died. Assistant coroner Sian Jones concluded her death was drug-related.
A pathologist told the hearing in a statement that the most likely cause of death was methadone toxicity.
Maryanne had a history of drug use and had been deemed at "high risk" of overdose. She was subject to frequent checks.
But the hearing was told that she went out by taxi without telling anyone, and returned "a bit hyper”.
The hearing was told that Maryanne was a voluntary patient and could not be prevented from leaving the premises.
Maryanne collapsed in her room in June 2024 and despite the best efforts of staff, ambulance crews and doctors she was pronounced dead in Royal Preston Hospital.
Pathologist Dr Neil Papworth said there was no clear cause of death initially. The methadone present in the blood was at a level that had been known to cause death.
On the balance of probabilities methadone toxicity was the likely cause.The coroner was told that Maryanne was prescribed 50ml of methadone a day.
Katie Pilkington, assistant director of Brookhaven's parent company Active Pathways, said Maryanne had been a resident for about six months.
She was a voluntary patient and could come and go and she wished.On the day before she died, she left the home twice, once in the morning and once later on.
She was described as "hyper" when she returned.She was also seen receiving something from another resident that day, but it was thought to be cigarettes.
Ms Pilkington said Maryanne's mood was changeable, some days she would be quiet and others she would be happy.She said she was a high risk patient and a very robust management plan was in place to care for her.
A check was done of the methadone stocks at the home and nothing was missing. Nothing untoward was found in Maryanne's room.
Coroner Ms Jones said staff at the home did all that they could to try to revive Maryanne.She said: "At some point during the day Maryanne has consumed methadone that was not prescribed to her, at a dose that would prove fatal."
Ms Jones said she felt sure the overdose was unintentional and concluded it was a drug-related death.
Maryanne Keefe was living at the Brookhaven care home, Gough Lane, Bamber Bridge, near Preston.Preston Coroners Court heard that Maryanne, aged 39, died of drug toxicity.
She collapsed in her room and was taken to hospital, where she died.Assistant coroner Sian Jones concluded her death was drug-related.
A pathologist told the hearing in a statement that the most likely cause of death was methadone toxicity.Maryanne had a history of drug use and had been deemed at "high risk" of overdose.
She was subject to frequent checks. But the hearing was told that she went out by taxi without telling anyone, and returned "a bit hyper."
The hearing was told that Maryanne was a voluntary patient and could not be prevented from leaving the premises.
Maryanne collapsed in her room in June 2024 and despite the best efforts of staff, ambulance crews and doctors she was pronounced dead in Royal Preston Hospital.
Pathologist Dr Neil Papworth said there was no clear cause of death initially. The methadone level was at a level that had been known to cause death
.On the balance of probabilities methadone toxicity was the likely cause.The coroner was told that Maryanne was prescribed 50ml of methadone a day.
Katie Pilkington, assistant director of Brookhaven's parent company Active Pathways, said Maryanne had been a resident for about six months.
She was a voluntary patient and could come and go and she wished.On the day before she died, she left the home twice, once in the morning and once later on.
She was described as "hyper" when she returned.She was also seen receiving something from another resident that day, but it was thought to be cigarettes.
Ms Pilkington said Maryanne's mood was changeable, some days she would be quiet and others she would be happy.
She said she was a high risk patient and a very robust management plan was in place to care for her.A check was done of the methadone stocks at the home and nothing was missing.
Nothing untoward was found in Maryanne's room.Coroner Ms Jones said staff at the home did all that they could to try to revive Maryanne.
She said: "At some point during the day Maryanne has consumed methadone that was not prescribed to her, at a dose that would prove fatal."Ms Jones said she felt sure the overdose was unintentional and concluded it was a drug-related death.