Police are investigating the death of a woman suspected of being given more than recommended doses of powerful antipsychotics in a psychiatric ward.
Former instructor Margaret Morinou, 69, who was being treated for bipolar disorder, suffered from a series of complications and died in the hospital three days after suffocation in July 2017.
Coroners determined that her cause of death was natural causes, but Hartfordshire police investigated the alleged gross negligence after a study found that Morinou was prescribed more than the recommended dose of olanzapine. Started
Her daughter, Petria Foley (pictured below), believes that antipsychotics caused dangerous side effects such as choking.
The Telegraph can reveal that the detective appointed a forensic toxicologist and investigated the case before deciding whether to prosecute.
Morinou, a mother of two, was admitted to the Kingfisher Court Psychiatric Ward in Raidert, Hertfordshire in March 2017.
She was prescribed olanzapine, a powerful antipsychotic drug used to treat psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, depression and bipolar disorder.
However, it is also associated with a variety of side effects, and in 2018 Avon and Somerset police began investigating the death of teenage Oliver McGowan, who died after being prescribed the drug.
In the weeks leading up to his death, Molino suffered from a series of falls and suffered from sepsis and pneumonia.
She also developed dysphagia (a condition that makes swallowing difficult). Ms. Foley is convinced that it is the medication that causes the physical problems.
She continued to be prescribed the drug, despite her mother’s condition worsening, and the doctor stopped smoking her.
Foley believed that her mother’s death could have been completely avoided and accused the local health trust of trying to cover up the facts of the incident.
She told The Telegraph: “I don’t understand why she was given high doses of olanzapine, especially when she began to show side effects.
“It was painful to see my mother suffering to the end, but they continued to prescribe more than recommended levels of medication.
“There was written advice suggesting that the drug poses a risk of choking, but that advice was ignored. I think she would have recovered if she had stopped olanzapine.”
Born in Ireland and immigrated to the United Kingdom at the age of nine, Morinou earned a bachelor’s degree in English literature in his thirties and worked as an instructor.
She had a mental illness in her 40s and began receiving treatment for her mental illness, but was stable until her recurrence in 2017.
After being admitted to Kingfisher Court, she was prescribed significantly more than the recommended dose of olanzapine to stabilize her body.
When her physical health deteriorated, she was transferred to Watford General Hospital, but after recovery she returned to Kingfisher Court to continue her dosing program.
Within a few days her dysphagia recurred and she was readmitted to Watford General Hospital and died on July 5.
Ms. Foley said:
“If the Health Trust had responsibly apologized, I wouldn’t have gone this far.”
A spokeswoman for the Hertfordshire Police Department said, “A police officer at the Hertfordshire State Guard Command is currently investigating after allegations of treating a woman who died in 2017.
“There are no arrests at this time and the investigation is ongoing, so it is inappropriate to comment further.”
A spokeswoman for the Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust said:
“We have shared the findings of Molyneux’s care with her family and are currently cooperating with the police investigation, so it is inappropriate to comment further at this stage.”