Misadventure verdict on Anne Haines' death in ‘extra care’

Published: 11 March 2010
by JOSIE HINTON

A CORONER examining the death of a vulnerable resident has pinpointed a “breakdown in communication” between mental health staff and a sheltered housing block in Swiss Cottage.

Anne Haines, 74, died in November after taking an overdose of pain­killers at Mora Burnet House, Camden’s first “extra care” sheltered housing scheme.

Ms Haines was suffering from anxiety and depression and had moved into the £5.35million block – which promises 24-hour care and support – after a previous overdose in 2005, which she later admitted was a “cry for help”.

Staff at Mora Burnet House were supposed to check on her three times daily while she was at the  Winchester Road home. But a St Pancras inquest heard on Tuesday that those regular checks were not made on the day she took an overdose of painkillers. There was a gap of nearly 24 hours between the last time she was seen alive and when staff found her unconscious in her room. Staff were working to an outdated care plan from 2007, the inquest heard.

Recording a verdict of misadventure, coroner Dr Andrew Reid said  Ms Haines had not intended to end her life. He added: “I accept there has been a breakdown in communication, but it does not constitute a gross lack of medical attention. I’m satisfied those involved will learn lessons.”

Speaking after the inquest, Ms Haines’s daughter Anne said she felt there had been some neglect in her mother’s care. “Because of my mother’s history of depression they should have tried harder to get into her flat,” she said. “I’m not saying it would definitely have saved her life. But it might have.”

A spokesman for Camden and Islington NHS Trust said: “While the coroner has ruled misadventure without apportionment of blame to either the trust or Mora Burnet House, we are nevertheless looking into any areas where we can learn from her story.”

A spokesman for Origin Housing said: “We are working to improve communications and are looking into the case to see if anything else can be learnt.”