A CORONER could not determine if a painkiller overdose contributed to a brain hemorrhage which caused the death of a retired hotel manager.

Anne Gaffney, 72, of Egremont died at the West Cumberland Hospital on September 20 last year - five days after she had been admitted to A&E for taking more than her prescribed dose of Tramadol.  

An inquest held at Cockermouth Coroners’ Court heard that Ms Gaffney had a past medical history of multiple ‘old strokes’ and she had high blood pressure which was managed with medication.

Ms Gaffney lived at home and was receiving four care visits a day. On September 15 last year, a carer helped her take her usual medication. Ms Gaffney had cancelled her lunch time appointment but the carer attended anyway.

Ms Gaffney disclosed that she had taken more than her prescribed dose of Tramadol with the intention of ending her life.

The carer rang for paramedics and Ms Gaffney was persuaded to go to hospital. She discussed her intentions to take her life and said she was ‘lonely’.

Throughout her hospital stay, Ms Gaffney’s blood pressure was high and she continued to say she wanted to end her life.

The overdose was found to be non-fatal and no antagonist was required. Ms Gaffney later became ‘sleepy’ and ‘confused’. Her blood pressure remained high and she developed a left-sided facial drop.

A CT scan showed an intracranial bleed. Doctors ruled out surgical intervention and Ms Gaffney was ‘kept comfortable’. A ‘do not resuscitate’ was in place.

Ms Gaffney was transferred to palliative care and she passed away on September 20, 2023.

Blood samples taken when Ms Gaffney arrived in hospital showed that Tramadol was in the therapeutic range.

The cause of death was an intracerebral hemorrhage.

Kirsty Gomersal, area coroner for Cumbria, said the blood samples had been taken more than eight hours after the overdose and the amount of Tramadol would have been higher, earlier in the day.

Ms Gomersal said she could not determine if Ms Gaffney’s blood pressure was affected by the Tramadol, due to her past medical history and the lack of evidence.

The coroner noted that blood pressure can increase while patients are in hospital and Ms Gaffney had a history of high blood pressure.

Ms Gomersal said she couldn’t determine the contribution of Tramadol to the intracerebral hemorrhage.

The coroner returned a narrative conclusion, which said: Anne Gaffney died from an intracerebral hemorrhage. She had a history of stroke and high blood pressure, a risk factor of  stroke. The contribution of Tramadol to the bleed cannot be determined.