Добавить новость

Концерт классической музыки пройдет 25 июля в океанариуме Красногорска

Минсельхозпрод Подмосковья сообщил о повышении цен на табак с 1 сентября

Участник форума - МТУСИ

Подмосковные спортсмены победили на 5-м этапе чемпионата России по кольцевым гонкам



Новости сегодня

Новости от TheMoneytizer

Woman with chronic fatigue syndrome died after begging GP for help

'Please help me get enough food to live.'

Maeve died months after writing to her doctor for help (Picture: Family Handout)
Maeve died months after writing to her doctor for help (Picture: Family Handout)

A young woman with chronic fatigue syndrome begged her GP for help just months before she died, an inquest heard.

Maeve Boothby-O’Neill, 27, had written to her doctor asking for help with eating, as she had struggled to sit up.

The inquest in Exeter, Devon, heard she had been confined to bed and was being cared for by her mother.

Maeve, who had been diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), died at home in Exeter in October 2021.

She had been suffering from fatigue since the age of 13, which got worse after she completed her A-levels, and later struggled to maintain ‘any normality due to fatigue’.

The inquest into her death is focusing on her care from January 2021 until her death, and heard she had been getting weaker, having been unable to feed herself from March.

Maeve is seen with her father Sean O'Neill
Maeve is seen with her father Sean O’Neill (Picture: Family Handout)

According to medical notes, by July she was unable to read, watch TV or engage in conversations, and was only getting out of bed to use the toilet.

She was also unable to chew food and had difficulty drinking because she was not able to sit up.

Maeve had wanted to be treated at home and ‘reluctantly’ agreed to hospital admissions.

On June 18 she wrote to her GP, Dr Lucy Shenton, asking for help: ‘Dear Dr Shenton, I know you are doing your best for me, but I really need help with feeding. I don’t understand why the hospital didn’t do anything to help when I went in. I am hungry, I want to eat.

‘I have been unable to sit up or chew since March and the only person helping me eat is my mum. I cannot get enough calories from a syringe. Please help me get enough food to live.’

Maeve Boothby O'Neill, taken on her 18th birthday
Maeve said she had wished to remain at home and cared for there (Picture: Sam Greenhill)

She had also completed an advanced decisions document about her future treatment if she was unable to communicate her wishes.

In it she wrote: ‘I wish to remain at home and be cared for at home in the community. ME/CFS is a diagnosis by elimination, and I have had every test possible all of which, except one, proved negative.

‘The positive test was for mitochondrial function in blood (2016). The only recommended and reliable treatment for ME/CFS is complete rest remaining below my anaerobic threshold and pacing every activity.

‘I do not seem to have been able to do this despite spending all my time horizontal since January 2021. I agree to admission to hospital for treatment only if there are clearly and fully considered reasons i.e.. hydration and nutrition.

‘When I am in hospital, please enable these medications, supplements and dietary needs. I have been unable to eat solid food since March 19, 2021 having lost the ability to chew.’

Maeve had been admitted three times to the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, but was discharged each time and sent home.

The outside of the Royal Devon and Exeter hospital is seen on a sunny day
The Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital discharged her three times (Picture: Shutterstock)

Dr Shenton’s colleague, Dr Paul McDermott, told the hearing she ‘ticked all the boxes for very severe ME’.

He told the coroner: ‘As GPs we are not experts and we rely on other people to help us out. We don’t have any other patients who have been anywhere as near severe as Maeve.’

He said he was ‘slightly shocked’ that having admitted her to hospital in March 2021, she was sent home the same day.

He added: ‘I am very aware we were in the pandemic and the hospital was full of Covid-19 patients but I was surprised she was discharged that day.’

Maeve’s mother, Sarah Boothby, wrote to the GP practice manager in the April wanting to know what had ‘gone badly wrong’ with the care of her daughter.

She said: ‘Since March 10, 2021 I have been the only person providing care for a person unable to sit, stand or chew. This is a long-term chronic condition without prognosis or treatment protocol. What is the plan for hydration, liquid, nourishment and transfers to a bedside commode in the community?

What is encephalomyelitis and what are the symptoms?

Myalgic encephalomyelitis, also called chronic fatigue syndrome or ME/CFS, is a long-term condition that can affect different parts of the body. The most common symptom is extreme tiredness.

The main symptoms of ME include:

  • feeling extremely tired all the time (fatigue), which can make daily activities like taking a shower, or going to work or school, difficult
  • sleep problems, including insomnia, sleeping too much, feeling like you have not slept properly and feeling exhausted or stiff when you wake up
  • problems with thinking, concentration and memory (brain fog)
  • symptoms getting worse after physical or mental activity, and possibly taking weeks to get better (also called post-exertional malaise, or PEM)

Source: NHS

‘You had arranged to speak by phone to me before the pandemic in February 2020. You didn’t call as arranged then and when I rang the surgery, they told me you were off sick. This case was urgent then and it is very urgent now.’

In a statement Ms Boothby described her daughter as an ‘exceptional’ child and an A-grade student.

‘She loved learning languages, she had a lively and active interest in world affairs. She looked forward to travelling beyond the UK after finishing school. After finishing school, she was too severely affected by ME to go travelling or take up a place at university.’

Her father, Sean O’Neill, a journalist with The Times newspaper, added: ‘Maeve was bright, creative, articulate and opinionated. She was academically gifted, very articulate, and a challenging debater.

‘But I especially wanted it to be remembered that she was a special big sister to Danny and Lily. Her death has been hard for Danny and Lily to understand. Illness stopped them knowing her better, but they knew her love and on her death bed she remembered them.’

The inquest, which is scheduled to last two weeks, continues.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Читайте на 123ru.net


Новости 24/7 DirectAdvert - доход для вашего сайта



Частные объявления в Вашем городе, в Вашем регионе и в России



Smi24.net — ежеминутные новости с ежедневным архивом. Только у нас — все главные новости дня без политической цензуры. "123 Новости" — абсолютно все точки зрения, трезвая аналитика, цивилизованные споры и обсуждения без взаимных обвинений и оскорблений. Помните, что не у всех точка зрения совпадает с Вашей. Уважайте мнение других, даже если Вы отстаиваете свой взгляд и свою позицию. Smi24.net — облегчённая версия старейшего обозревателя новостей 123ru.net. Мы не навязываем Вам своё видение, мы даём Вам срез событий дня без цензуры и без купюр. Новости, какие они есть —онлайн с поминутным архивом по всем городам и регионам России, Украины, Белоруссии и Абхазии. Smi24.net — живые новости в живом эфире! Быстрый поиск от Smi24.net — это не только возможность первым узнать, но и преимущество сообщить срочные новости мгновенно на любом языке мира и быть услышанным тут же. В любую минуту Вы можете добавить свою новость - здесь.




Новости от наших партнёров в Вашем городе

Ria.city

На Земле зафиксирован самый жаркий день в истории наблюдений

Сборная России с «уралочками» в составе готовится к новому ватерпольному сезону

Минсельхозпрод Подмосковья сообщил о повышении цен на табак с 1 сентября

В рекламе на дорогах в Нижегородской области нашли нарушения

Музыкальные новости

В регионах Центральной России продолжаются мероприятия в рамках ведомственной акции «Каникулы с Росгвардией»

СМИ: в Москве могут состояться переговоры Эрдогана и Асада

Москва слезам не верит: в ТПП РФ подержали инициативу по защите прав предпринимателей

Shaman связал выход Байдена из гонки со своим выступлением у посольства в Москве

Новости России

Газовый баллончик взорвался в заднем проходе жителя Москвы

В Мытищах идет подготовка к предстоящему отопительному периоду

РЭО: запущен комплекс по обращению с ТКО в Тульской области

Минсельхозпрод Подмосковья сообщил о повышении цен на табак с 1 сентября

Экология в России и мире

Представители «Метровагонмаш-Сервиса» посетили СЛД «Москва-Сортировочная» филиала «Московский» компании «ЛокоТех-Сервис» для обмена опытом

22 июля Всемирный день мозга. Отвечаем на популярные вопросы о когнитивных расстройствах

Кухня – рай для бактерий: доктор Кутушов рассказал о скрытых рассадниках микробов

3 завтрака на лето из разных уголков страны

Спорт в России и мире

Теннисист Медведев получил пятый номер посева на Олимпиаде в Париже

Панова и Сизикова вышли в финал турнира WTA в Палермо в парном разряде

Победительница Уимблдона приняла неожиданное решение по участию на Олимпиаде

«Никто не вправе давать советы». Веснина рассказала, почему нужно ехать на Олимпиаду

Moscow.media

В городском округе Домодедово проведена агитационно-разъяснительная работа с населением о сохранности имущества.

Отрытый конкурс красоты и таланта «Одна на миллион»

Каникулы с Росгвардией.

Роспотребнадзор сообщил о единичных случаях листериоза в России











Топ новостей на этот час

Rss.plus






Газовый баллончик взорвался в заднем проходе жителя Москвы

Подмосковные спортсмены победили на 5-м этапе чемпионата России по кольцевым гонкам

В Мытищах идет подготовка к предстоящему отопительному периоду

Лавров отметил роль Татарстана в сотрудничестве с исламским и тюркским миром