OAP who died from pneumonia was unable to afford to heat 'extremely cold' home
A great-grandmother died after developing hypothermia when she could not afford to heat her home.
Barbara Bolton, 87, died in January this year and was found by her relatives slumped in her home suffering from profound hypothermia, a coroner has heard.
Her body temperature was a desperately low 28C compared to the normal temperature of 37C and meant she had had an “extremely poor prognosis."
She suffered a medical emergency despite the attempts of her family to pay bills on her behalf.
Barbara was taken to Fairfield General Hospital in Bury on December 11 and she died 25 days later from pneumonia brought on by hypothermia.
Shop prices 'are yet to peak and will remain high' as inflation hits new heights
The hearing was told Mrs Bolton, 87, was found in her “extremely cold” home by her grandson unable to speak, on December 11 last year.
Senior coroner Joanne Kearsley told Mrs Bolton’s son Mark: “What comes across clearly from both the hospital statements and from your own is how much, as a family, you cared and looked after your mum.
Barbara was found with a body temperature of 28C (Manchester Evening News)“I think it was evident from the hospital that whatever had happened at home wasn’t because the family weren’t encouraging her to put her heating on or telling her not to worry.
“It’s clear she was fixated on the worry of putting her heating on no matter what anyone was saying to her.
“For some reason, she had clearly become slightly entrenched in the view she couldn’t put the heating on for whatever reason. No matter what anyone was telling her, she wasn’t going to do anything differently.”
Barbara had lived in the same home in Bury for 40 years. Mark, 61, who spoke to his mum every night, said she was worried about her heating bills, despite his assurances he would cover the costs.
'She was concerned about all her bills because she was a pensioner,' Barbara's son Mark said (Manchester Evening News)"She was concerned about all her bills because she was a pensioner. She was careful, she was mindful of the prices and worried about them going up” he said.
Hospital notes said Mrs Bolton, who had retired from her job in a pharmacy aged 82, had not turned her heating on because of a “fear of high energy bills”.
She had a gas fire in her living room and other heaters in her terraced home in Bury, Greater Manchester.
Her family had urged her to use them but she ignored their pleas.
8 money changes coming in February including Universal Credit and passport fees
In a statement read to the court, Dr Amir Ansari, a Consultant Physician, said her death was “probably avoidable if she agreed to keep her heating on,”
Mr Bolton said family members spoke to her every day and visited her often, and he described how she would put a gas fire on in her living room when people visited.
He said the family had even bought her heaters but she would only put these on when the family came around.
Mr Bolton said: “She would not put the heating on in the house. But she had been told by family members, particularly in recent times, not to worry about it.”
He told the hearing his mother was “old school” and added: “It was my way or no-one’s way with my mum.”
He said he worked in mountain rescue and knew how dangerous hypothermia can be.
Recording a conclusion of misadventure, the coroner said: “She seemed like quite a remarkable woman, still working at 82.”
The inquest heard that "proud" Barbara's death was “was particularly accelerated by hypothermia.”
At the opening of an inquest into her death in January, Julie Mitchell, the assistant coroner for Manchester North, said: “Her death was particularly accelerated by hypothermia and there is a possibility of self-neglect due to the lack of heating so her death has been referred to the coroner.”
According to Met Office data, the thermometer had dropped to a low of -4.2C during the weekend when Mrs Bolton was found at home.
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
