Cleaning fluid drink death of hospital OAP

RIDDLE Joan Blaber A WOMAN of 85 died after drinking Flash floor cleaner from a water jug in hospital, an inquest heard.

Joan Blaber, 85, was recovering from a stroke and died six days later.

Police and hospital chiefs failed to explain how the Flash got into the jug.

The Health and Safety Executive and Care Quality Commission also probed the death at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton last September.

Coroner Veronica Hamilton-Deeley said: “Even the most rigorous police investigation hasn’t completely ascertained what actually happened.”

Mrs Blaber, of Lewes, East Sussex, died of respiratory failure due to pneumonia caused by ingesting cleaning fluid.

The inquest continues.