Exeter woman died months after begging GP for help, inquest hears

A young woman died months after begging her GP for help with her chronic fatigue syndrome, an inquest heard.

Maeve Boothby-O’Neill, 27, had written to her doctor asking for help with feeding as she was hungry.

Ms Boothby-O’Neill had been diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME). She died at home in Exeter, Devon, in October 2021.

The inquest, which is scheduled to last two weeks, continues.

The hearing in Exeter heard that she had told her GP, Dr Lucy Shenton, in June 2021: “Dear Dr Shenton, I know you are doing your best for me, but I really need help with feeding.

“I do not understand why the hospital did not do anything to help when I went in. I am hungry, I want to eat.”

She continued: “I have been unable to sit up or chew since March and the only person helping me eat is my mum. I cannot get enough calories from a syringe.

“Please help me get enough food to live.”

She had been suffering from fatigue since the age of 13, which got worse after she completed her A-levels, and later struggled to maintain “any normality due to fatigue”

A key witness at the inquest was Dr Shenton but earlier this month she told the coroner she was too ill to attend to give evidence.

The coroner told the hearing: “Dr Shenton felt the stress of Maeve’s tragic death would have a significant toll on her.”

The GP felt attending the hearing would “trigger a mental health breakdown” and Dr Shenton’s own GP said she was suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder, the coroner said.

Ms Boothby-O’Neill father, Sean O’Neill, a journalist with The Times newspaper, told the hearing: “Dr Shenton was Maeve’s GP, she knew Maeve for four years and had more contact with her then any other medical professional involved in her care.

“She was fond of Maeve. She recognised her intelligence, her desire to be cured of her awful illness and her capacity to make difficult decisions about her care.”

He said Dr Shenton told Maeve’s mother Sarah Boothby that she had “never seen anyone so poorly treated by the NHS as Maeve was”.

The hearing is focusing on Ms Boothby-O’Neill’s care from January 2021 until her death.

According to medical notes, by July she was unable to read, watch TV or engage in conversations, and was only getting out of bed to use the toilet.

She was also unable to chew food and had difficulty drinking because she was not able to sit up.

Ms Boothby-O’Neill had been admitted three times to the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital but was discharged each time and sent home, the inquest was told.

Dr Shenton’s colleague, Dr Paul McDermott, said he was “slightly shocked” that, having admitted her to hospital in March 2021, she was sent home the same day.

Ms Boothby-O’Neill’s mother, Sarah Boothby, wrote to the GP practice manager in the April wanting to know what had “gone badly wrong” with the care of her daughter.

“Since 10 March, 2021, I have been the only person providing care for a person unable to sit, stand or chew,” she wrote.

“This is a long-term chronic condition without prognosis or treatment protocol.

“What is the plan for hydration, liquid, nourishment and transfers to a bedside commode in the community?

“You had arranged to speak by phone to me before the pandemic in February 2020.

“You did not call as arranged then and when I rang the surgery, they told me you were off sick.

“This case was urgent then and it is very urgent now.”

Ms Boothby described her daughter as an “exceptional” child and an A-grade student.

Mr O’Neill said of his daughter: “I especially wanted it to be remembered that she was a special big sister to Danny and Lily.

“Her death has been hard for Danny and Lily to understand.

“Illness stopped them knowing her better, but they knew her love and on her death bed she remembered them.”