**Trigger Warning: Upsetting Content**
Maeve Boothby-O'Neill, 27, had suffered with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) for a decade before dying at home in 2021.
By Toby Codd
Extracts
A senior doctor at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital had urged a young woman suffering from severe chronic fatigue syndrome to stay in hospital rather than return home, an inquest has heard.
The inquest, held in Exeter, was told that Miss Boothby-O'Neill had been admitted to the hospital three times in 2021 due to malnutrition. During her second admission between May and June, she expressed her wish to be discharged and continue her treatment at home in Exeter.
The inquest is focusing on the final few months of Miss Boothby-O'Neill's life when she was bedridden, unable to chew food and struggled with drinking as she couldn't sit up. Dr Kashyap Patel, a consultant in diabetes and endocrinology, shared with the hearing that he had tried to convince Miss Boothby-O'Neill to stay in his ward but couldn't prevent her from leaving as she had mental capacity.
Dr Patel recounted his discussions with Miss Boothby-O'Neill's mother, Sarah Boothby, and the advice he sought from other medical professionals, including her GP, Dr Lucy Shenton, as well as input from social workers and occupational therapists.
“I said, ‘please stay'. I found it very hard, but I also understood her point of view that she felt hospital is not the right place for her,”
Dr Kashyap Patel
Further media coverage
- BBC News: Doctor urged ME patient to stay on ward – inquest | 26th July 2024
- Daily Mail: Senior doctor pleaded with a young woman who died from debilitating ME to remain in hospital rather than go home, an inquest heard | 26th July 2024
- Express & Star: Doctor asked ME sufferer to remain in hospital, inquest hears | 26th July 2024
- ITV News: Doctor asked ME sufferer Maeve Boothby-O’Neill to remain in hospital, inquest hears | 26th July 2024
- Evening Standard: Doctor asked ME sufferer to remain in hospital, inquest hears | 26th July 2024
- Belfast Telegraph: Inquest into death of NI reporter’s daughter hears doctor asked ME sufferer to remain in hospital | 26th July 2024