Drug overdose woman failed by health system, says mother
Andrea Proctor, aged 31, of Marrow House, Baldoyle, Dublin 13, was found collapsed on the floor at her home on the morning of July 21, 2010, by a neighbour.
She was rushed by ambulance to Beaumont Hospital where she died of acute liver failure, secondary to a multi-drug overdose two days later, Dublin City Coroner’s Court heard.
Lithium and paracetamol were among the medications which she had consumed.
Her mother, Yvonne Byrne told the coroner she felt every system that should have been there failed her daughter, who was mentally ill for eight months.
“She was under the care of professional people for eight months and every one of them failed her,” said Ms Byrne, speaking from the body of the court.
“She couldn’t sleep. She couldn’t concentrate and they said she didn’t tick the boxes to be admitted to hospital,” said Ms Byrne.
She said she tried to help her daughter and her daughter’s husband Stephen tried, but they didn’t have the qualifications.
“Our reality was a nightmare day after day. She couldn’t function. With the medication she was on, she couldn’t think,” said Ms Byrne who was looking after her daughter’s children and was recovering from cancer at the time.
Her husband, Andrea’s father had recently died.
Ms Byrne said her social worker never visited her daughter at home.
Dublin City Coroner’s Court heard her husband, Stephen Proctor, noticed a change in his wife’s behaviour in May 2009 and said she had mood swings, which he put down to her father having been diagnosed with cancer.
The mother-of-three spent some time as an inpatient at St Ita’s Hospital in Portrane in November 2009 following her father’s death and again in January 2010.
Following her discharge she attended a day centre.
Ms Proctor spent a period of two weeks at the hospital in March 2010 following an overdose of medication on St Patrick’s Day.
A care worker attended her home two days a week following her discharge and stopped coming once their youngest child began attending play-school, Mr Proctor said.
Coroner Dr Brian Farrell adjourned the inquest to a date in June at the request of family members who wanted to hear evidence from the medical professionals looking after Ms Proctor in the hope that deaths like this might be prevented.
