Top paediatrician Otto Wolff left clear instructions before overdose

Published: 06 August, 2010
by JOSIE HINTON

AN esteemed professor of paediatrics ended his own life at the age of 90 after being unable to cope with the loss of his mobility, an inquest heard.

Otto Wolff CBE, former Nuffield Professor of Child Health at Great Ormond Street Hospital and president of the British Paediatric Association, died on April 27 after taking an overdose of medication.

The retired doctor, of Danbury Street, Angel, was taken to University College Hospital but doctors decided it was not appropriate to resuscitate him as he had given clear instructions to his GP that he did not wish to have his life deliberately prolonged.

An inquest into Professor Wolff’s death at St Pancras Coroner’s Court on Tuesday was told he had been feeling low following the onset of undiagnosed back and shoulder pain. 

An occupational therapist who visited him on April 27 found him to be in a despondent mood.

He was due to attend for an MRI scan later that day but first expressed a desire to rest. Appearing to be deeply asleep, when his daughter-in-law attempted to wake him some hours later she found him to be unconscious. 

It was then she found an illegible note, believed to be a suicide note, along with empty packets of medication. 

Bernadette Wolff, Prof Wolff’s daughter-in-law, told the court: “He had a friend living in a home and using a wheelchair and he said he never wanted to end up like that. 

“He said he would prefer to be dead than end up like that. He felt that he was never going to get over this and made comments about being close to the end.”

He died from a combination of coronary heart disease and butobarbitone toxicity. 

Recording a verdict of suicide, coroner Dr Andrew Reid said: “He was an esteemed professor of paediatrics and would have understood the nature and effect of the overdose he was taking. I’m sure he did not intend to be rescued or resuscitated.”

During a long career in medicine, Professor Wolff had received many honours including the Dawson Williams Memorial Prize by the BMA in 1985 and the James Spence medal by British Paediatric Association in 1988. He was made CBE in 1985.