Medical staff summoned to eating disorder inquest (From Haringey Independent)

Medical staff summoned to eating disorder inquest

4:48pm Friday 27th February 2009

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(0)

The father of a bright university graduate said he had "no faith" in the mental health system after watching his daughter die following a long history of eating disorders.

At an inquest at Hornsey Coroner’s Court, in Myddleton Road, on Wednesday, the anguished father said he had been forced to watch his daughter Alana Johnson die because she refused to admit herself for treatment.

Alana, in her 20s, died at her Enfield home on November 10, 2008, with a body mass index (BMI) of 16 which is severely underweight.

Miss Johnson, who was studying for a Masters degree in psychology and criminology, had a long history of eating disorders and was being treated as an out-patient at St Ann’s Hospital, in St Ann’s Road, Tottenham.

Her family and friends said they did all they could to encourage her to be treated as an inpatient which would have meant her eating habits were under closer scrutiny.

A friend alleged the hospital said it could not make a forced admission because her weight, approximately seven stone, was not low enough.

A BMI of less than 13, a level of starvation, could have led to her being admitted to hospital.

The promising student had other medical health problems and had become a heavy drinker. Her frail body was unable to handle the amount of alcohol she was consuming.

A post-mortem revealed high levels of alcohol in her blood.

Speaking at the inquest, her father said: “Alana had a problem. She was not capable of making the right decision. That is why my daughter is dead. “The system is a fraud. I have no faith in the system.”

Under the Mental Capacity Act 2005, people over the age of 18 diagnosed with an eating disorder must agree to be admitted as inpatients based on a "presumption of capacity".

It means that every adult has the right to make his or her own decisions and must be assumed to have the capacity to do so unless it is proved otherwise, even if they make decisions that are “eccentric or unwise”, the Act states.

Coroner Andrew Walker adjourned the inquest and will summons medical witnesses from St Ann’s to attend the hearing.

Mr Walker said: “We have to have those witnesses here. We have to put the questions to them. We can’t do that if they are not here.

“You can’t leave these questions unanswered in your mind.”

The Hornsey coroner suggested a proper inquiry could make a difference to other families who found themselves in a similar situation.

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(0)