Troubled mum denied liver transplant after overdose
ASOUTHPORT mum who told nurses she “had no thoughts to end her life” took a fatal overdose just a few hours later.
Donna Guinan, 50, told mental health nurses she did not believe she was unwell after they were called to her address by a concerned neighbour at around 3pm on February 20, 2023.
The mum-of-one had been seen “agitated and distressed, knocking on the window, knocking on the front door and leaving her personal correspondence on the porch”.
She was seen by mental health nurse Neil Holdsworth, who believed she needed to be assessed under the Mental Health Act – however, he did not have the power to do this himself, and instead arranged for a consultant to visit her the next day.
But just seven hours later, a family member made a 999 call reporting the mum had taken an overdose of painkillers.
Ms Guinan was taken to Southport and Formby District General Hospital with liver failure.
Attempts were made for her to be transferred to Birmingham for a liver transplant however the hospital in Birmingham did not accept her due to her history of mental health problems, overdoses and “non-compliance”.
She was placed on palliative care and died of multiple organ failure and acute liver failure on February 22.
An inquest at Bootle town hall last week concluded the troubled mum had died “a drugs-related death”.
Coroner Graham Jackson said: “On February 20, 2023, Ms Guinan was admitted into Southport and Formby District General Hospital as a consequence of taking an overdose, which was confirmed as a toxic dose.
“On February 21, 2023, Ms Guinan developed severe hepatic impairment. A referral was made to The Regional Liver Transplant Unit in Birmingham but Ms Guinan was declined for a liver transplant.
“Thereafter, the condition of
Ms Guinan continued to deteriorate and she received palliative care until life was pronounced extinct at 2pm on February 22.”
During the inquest, Ms Guinan’s cousin Melloney Adams asked why there had been a delay in Ms Guinan’s care following her move from Nottingham to Southport on January 20 2023, as North
Sefton mental health services were only made aware of her case on February 1.
She said: “I don’t feel that local mental health was the right route for Donna given the severity of her mental health.
“For three years there’s been an abundance of notes that show Donna had very little insight into her mental health. That has been ongoing for three years. I would assume that mental health had access to these notes.
“Given Donna’s history of attempts to end her life, I find it hard to understand why Donna wasn’t seen as a risk, why there was no intervention when she returned to Southport.”
The University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust declined to comment.