Malnutrition did not cause mum's death, coroner rules

The death of a mother-of-two after a "routine" operation was not caused by malnutrition, a coroner has ruled.

Claire Boyd had lost more than four stone (25.4kg) in a matter of months when she died at Great Western Hospital (GWH) in Swindon, Wiltshire, on 13 May 2022.

Her family, who left Salisbury Coroner's Court before a conclusion was returned, had claimed she had "starved to death".

But Coroner David Ridley ruled earlier that the 41-year-old from Devizes had died of multi-organ failure as a result of sepsis and other complications of surgery.

Having suffered with a history of severe abdominal pain, Mrs Boyd was referred to University College Hospital (UCLH) in London in 2018 where, in October 2021, she underwent an elective procedure called an endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatogram (ERCP).

Her condition rapidly deteriorated after the surgery and she developed severe pancreatitis, leading to further operations including one to remove approximately 80% of her bowel.

Mrs Boyd was eventually discharged from UCLH, but was later admitted to GWH where she died.

Ahead of delivering his conclusion, Mr Ridley said: "I do not find, for the avoidance of doubt, that malnutrition was a contributory factor to Claire's death."

Having heard evidence from an independent expert, as well as the doctors involved in Mrs Boyd's care, he said malnutrition "only possibly contributed, and even then, only minimally" to her death.

Mrs Boyd, the court heard, had a Body Mass Index (BMI) within a "normal" range when she died, though had lost a dramatic amount of weight.

Her husband Kevin Boyd and son Callum Boyd - who have previously spoken out about their concerns regarding Mrs Boyd's weight loss, her mental capacity and a medication prescription error - chose to leave the court on Wednesday after telling Mr Ridley they felt elements of her case had been "downplayed".

Mrs Boyd's husband told the court his wife had been "crushed" and "destroyed" by the prescription error, adding it had "changed everything".

He also claimed there was a discrepancy between her weight as given to the court and as recorded by the hospital, saying the family had not noticed any weight gain and describing the figure as "very suspect".

"We're not getting anywhere [...] we've been waiting many, many years," Mr Boyd told the court.

"You don't seem to care, you don't seem to want to care," her son added, questioning why it had taken so long for the inquest to take place and evidence to be collected.

Mr Ridley apologised for the delay, telling Mr Boyd: "Please don't think we're not acknowledging the loss of your mum."

"I regret that you don't feel this is a useful process, but this is not a public enquiry," he added, explaining earlier that he was required by law to "complete a full, fair and fearless investigation" and saying he had gone "above and beyond" by instructing an independent expert.

Consultant gastroenterologist Dr Anjan Banerjee, instructed as an independent expert in the case, said a dramatic fluctuation in weight could potentially be explained by fluid retention.

Delivering his conclusion, Mr Ridley said there was "no credible evidence" malnutrition played a part in Mrs Boyd's death.

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