Antiques Roadshow expert with post-natal psychosis died after medics restrained her
AN Antiques Roadshow jewellery expert died after being restrained by medics while suffering post-natal psychosis, a court has heard.
Alice Gibson-Watt, a scion of one of Scotland’s most aristocratic families, was taken to hospital in an ambulance after having a psychotic episode at her home.
The 34-year-old, who had given birth to her first child five weeks earlier, suffered a cardiac arrest and a ruptured liver. She died later that day in hospital.
Mrs Gibson-Watt worked for Sotheby’s auction house and made her first appearance on BBC1’s Antiques Roadshow in 2010.
She was a descendant of the Dukes of Buccleuch and Queensberry and a third cousin of the current duke Richard Scott, 62, who is Scotland’s largest private landowner with some 280,000 acres.
A full inquest into her death will be held next year and will examine the way paramedics used physical restraints on Mrs Gibson-Watt. It will also look at
‘She had an episode’
the way CPR was administered following her cardiac arrest.
Mrs Gibson-Watt, from Fulham in south-west London, gave birth to her daughter Chiara in October 2012.
But after the birth she suffered from postpartum psychosis – which is more severe than postnatal depression and can cause hallucinations and paranoia.
She was taken by ambulance to West Middlesex University Hospital, in Isleworth, west London. She was then transferred to Lakeside, a specialist mental health centre nearby, and suffered a cardiac arrest.
The mother was then moved to King’s College Hospital in Camberwell where she died on November 20, 2012.
A source close to the case said: ‘She was at home and she had an episode. She had to be restrained in the ambulance. She did have a liver injury. Was that [caused by] the CPR or from the restraints? She had a cardiac arrest. But which came first, the liver injury or the cardiac arrest?’
At a pre-inquest hearing at West London Coroner’s Court this week, a lawyer representing Mrs Gibson-Watt’s family said an expert should examine the way medics performed CPR.
Barrister Jonathan Holl-Allen said: ‘The family suggest the principal purpose of the investigation is the cardiac arrest.
‘It seems that [an expert] can express an opinion on the role of CPR in the causation of the liver injury which was sustained. We do know it’s recognised that resuscitation can cause a liver injury of this nature.’
Senior coroner Chinyere Inyama said: ‘We should be hearing evidence around the restraint episodes from the London Ambulance Service and police before admission to hospital.’ Three members of Mrs Gibson-Watt’s family, including husband Anthony, attended the hearing. The inquest is expected to last seven days and will be held next April.
After her death, relatives and friends took part in fundraising events to raise awareness about postpartum psychosis, in which the symptoms can be sudden and severe and which affects one in every 1,000 new mothers.
Katie Dyer, a close friend, raised £1,460 for charity Action on Postpartum Psychosis by running a marathon. On her fundraising page, she wrote: ‘Very sadly, my dear friend Alice Gibson-Watt passed away in late November 2012 following complications connected with postpartum psychosis. Her daughter, Chiara, was five weeks old.
‘These episodes can be very frightening for women, their partners, friends and family.’