Maeve’s inquest was a whitewash and the coroner betrayed everyone living with ME/CFS
A disaster
Steve Topple by Steve Topple
12 August 2024
On Friday 9 August, the inquest into the death of very severe myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS) patient Maeve Boothby O’Neill concluded that she died of natural causes because of her ME.
It was always unlikely that the Royal Devon and Exeter hospital that treated her was going to be found negligent. However, the coroner in the case has made the situation for everyone living with this devastating and potentially deadly illness in the UK a whole lot worse.
Maeve: the most horrific of cases
If you’re familiar with the case of Maeve, then I won’t need to furnish you with the details of how utterly heartbreaking and horrific it was. She died – effectively from starvation – on 3 October 2021, aged 27. Her death came after what can only be described as neglect, malpractice, and in some instances abuse, by the NHS..........................
