AN OVERWORKED veterinary nurse suffering from “burnout” died in the bath after taking a lethal cocktail of alcohol, sleeping tablets and other medication.
Louise O’Dwyer, 45, had given lectures across the world and was also a highly respected author but struggled to cope with her ever-demanding workload.
She had a panic attack while speaking at a conference that “shook her confidence” after which she had counselling with a mental health nurse.
He told the inquest “perfectionist” Mrs O’Dwyer was “burying her head in the sand” and was “suffering with burnout”.
On May 5 this year, after drinking wine and gin with her partner, Mrs O’Dwyer took sleeping tablets and other medication as a “coping mechanism” before falling asleep as she took a bath.
She was found submerged under the water when he went to check on her.
She died from being immersed in the water due to the toxic mixture of tablets and alcohol in her system.
Her sister, Alison Bradshaw, told the Bolton hearing: “She was very intelligent and very successful and well respected all over the world.
“Professionally and personally, everyone knew her and she appeared to be very happy.
“But she started losing a lot of weight and from April 2015 she started experiencing anxiety and depression. I was confused to learn about her taking days off work… that wasn’t like Louise.
“She mentioned having a panic attack while giving a lecture and this was totally out of character.”
Mrs O’Dwyer was prescribed anti depressants by her GP and started taking sleeping tablets.
She also booked an appointment for counselling with a mental health team.
Her sister told the hearing: “I last spoke to her on the Thursday before she did. We were sending messages to each other. The last text message was talking about how she was deciding to put her Masters on hold to release the pressure off her a bit.
“I asked if she needed to keep working and she said she wanted to be independent. I never had any inclination she wanted to harm herself.”
Her partner, Paul Rogerson, told the hearing: “Louise never spoke to me about her panic attack but she became depressed and had problems sleeping.
“In the short period of time leading up to her death she was having regular baths as she said it helped her to better deal with the side effects of the drugs as she was suffering so badly.
“On the night before she died we spent the evening together and we were drinking wine and went to bed.
“The next day, Louise said she was going to have a bath and took a drink upstairs with her.
“When the football finished I went into the bathroom to see her and that’s where I found her. The glass was partially full with gin in it.”
Major Alan Taberner, a former army medical officer who works as a senior practitioner for the mental health team that treated Mrs O’Dwyer, said the panic attack at the conference “shocked her”.
He told the hearing: “Normally she was quite assertive – I could tell she was a powerful woman. We were thinking of cognitive behaviour therapy but I believe she was burying her head in the sand.
“We all have flaws but she saw herself as a perfectionist.
“I thought it was appropriate for our team to work with Louise and she was up for that.
“She never talked about having baths as her coping mechanism but I believe she was suffering with burnout.”
Recording a verdict of death by misadventure Coroner Alan Walsh said: “She was suffering from burn out as a result of her over-commitment to others.
“I don’t know how she honoured all those commitments and held down a job. I believe she took the medication to try and help her to cope.
“She needed to relax and by having the bath she became drowsy and had gone to sleep, and died from the immersion in the water.
“She did not intend to end her life.
“I accept she took the medication on her own volition which might help her to cope and recover. She did not intend her actions to lead to her death.”
