The husband of a woman who died from excessively drinking water has spoken out after claiming she would still be alive if healthcare staff had monitored her properly.
Michelle Whitehead, a mum-of-two, was detained at a mental health unit following a breakdown where she began to drink water excessively before ending up in a coma.
Tragically, staff did not realise until it was too late, with the NHS trust admitting numerous failings on their behalf.
The failings by Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust included “inadequate monitoring of Michelle”, as “staff were distracted by the use of their personal mobile telephones”, which was prohibited on the ward.
After hearing evidence, an inquest jury concluded some of the failings had “probably more than minimally” contributed to her death.
The 45-year-old’s husband, Michael Whitehead, told the BBC: “When Michelle [seemingly] fell asleep, staff should have realised something was very wrong. Had they acted earlier Michelle would have been taken to ICU [intensive care unit] and put on a drip. That would have saved her life. By the time they realised what was happening, the same course of action was far too late.”
Mr Whitehead described his wife as “warm, caring and easy to love”.
Michelle had worked as a nursery nurse but gave this up when her son was born with Down’s syndrome. She was then a full time carer for 19 years.
In 2018, she had an acute mental breakdown before being admitted to Millbrook Mental Health Unit in Sutton-in-Ashfield.
In 2021, she had another breakdown and was admitted to the unit again on May 3, 2021. “She essentially lost all awareness of where she was and what was happening to her. It was a total breakdown from the person she normally is,” Mr Whitehead said.
The inquest found she had been excessively drinking water while at Millbrook on the afternoon of May 5, 2021. They found that her excessive water consumption was due to psycogenic polydipsia.
But staff failed to diagnose the condition, adminstering her tranquilisers to calm her down. After staff noticed a change in her breathing, she was admitted to King’s Mill Hospital where she died on May 7, 2021.
The inquest jury found, on the balance of probabilities, Mrs Whitehead died because she became acutely over-hydrated, leading to severely low sodium levels, causing swelling in the brain. This then caused her brain to be fatally injured.
Ifti Majid, chief executive of the trust, said in a statement to the BBC: “On behalf of the trust, I once again extend our sincerest condolences and apologies to the family and friends of Michelle Whitehead for their loss.
“We are considering the findings of the jury and the coroner. We acknowledge that there were aspects of care which were not of the quality they should have been and will address the concerns raised so that the experience for patients now and in future is improved.”
