Joanna Flynn

“The General Practitioner who gave evidence told the court that there was a lacuna in the healthcare provided for patients such as the deceased in terms of giving assistance for weaning off addictive prescription drugs such as opiates. It was clear that General Practitioner's require highly specialised assistance in order to help such patients and agencies within the healthcare system to which to refer them. This was all lacking in this particular sad set of circumstances. The court was informed”

“I would like an assurance that this hopeful initiative has got off the ground and indeed I would like to have information about any other initiatives to endeavour to address this dreadful problem. I would also like to hear what strides have been taken to improve training and education for general practitioners and GP practices in this worrying area of care.”

“The deceased, a 31 year old lady with a long-standing history of hoarding medication, had last been seen on the 23rd May 2019. On the 26th May 2019, the deceased was found slumped over the side of her bed. The pathologist provided 1a) Unascertained, as the cause of death. Only possible medical causes were oxycodone toxicity, positional asphyxia and pneumonia”