Trial By Error: Agencies Respond to Coroner’s Report in Boothby O’Neill Inquest
6 Comments / By David Tuller / 11 December 2024
By David Tuller, DrPH
The British government, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), NHS England, and others have responded to Deborah Archer, the coroner in the case of 27-year-old Maeve Boothby O’Neill, who died in 2021 from complications of ME after three hospitalizations failed to halt her decline. At the same time, the Royal Devon University Healthcare (RDUH) NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital where Maeve died, has released a clinical guidance for a “planned and unplanned admission process for severe or very severe adult ME patients.”
While any progress in addressing the enormous challenges revealed through the inquest is welcome, how much these steps will advance that goal is another question. They certainly represent a state of greater awareness on the part of critical organizations. Hopefully these and other development will ultimately lead to better care.
The inquest into Maeve’s death was held this past summer in Exeter, the university city in southwest England where she lived. The testimony and related evidence indicated a huge gap in care for patients like Maeve, who essentially starved to death while medical and social service personnel debated and argued over how to treat her and whether her condition was medical or psychological. The events have been widely covered by prominent UK media organizations. Maeve’s father, Sean O’Neill, is a long-time journalist at The Times and has written extensively about his daughter’s death, the inquest, and the failings of the health care system.
