A 93-year-old woman with dementia was fatally poisoned after eating washing tablets she mistook for sweets, an inquest heard.
The death of Elizabeth Van Der-Drift prompted a coroner to write to the Minister of Health and the cleaning products trade association, asking how the tablets are packaged.
The former nurse was dementia-prone and could not remember the last time she ate, often searching for something to eat, the inquest into her death heard earlier this month.
In March, she woke up in her nursing home to find the brightly colored detergent tablets lying there.
Ian Potter, assistant coroner for Inner North London, said: ‘Given the nature of the packaging and the tablets/pods, I concluded that given Mrs Van Der-Drift’s cognitive impairment as a result of her dementia, she probably thought it was some kind of confectionery.’
Dementia patient Elizabeth Van Der-Drift, 93, died after eating detergent tablets that she mistook for sweets
An inquest at Inner North London Coroner’s Court heard that Ms Van Der-Drift was living in a sheltered housing facility when the incident occurred
After biting into a tablet, Mrs Van Der-Drift complained of stomach pain and shortness of breath. An ambulance took her to hospital where she was treated, but her condition deteriorated and she died in hospital on 19 March.
Mr Potter has commissioned a report on preventing future deaths for Wes Streeting, as well as for the head of the UK’s Cleaning Product Industry Association and the boss of the Office for Product Safety and Standards, after hearing evidence that was “concerning”.
He said: ‘The main concern here is that laundry tablets/pods and their packaging are produced in a way that, due to their bright colour, appearance and packaging, could be mistaken for food by people with dementia or other cognitive impairment.
‘The problem, in my opinion, becomes even greater when you consider that the products themselves are far from harmless if accidentally ingested.’
The investigation revealed that Mrs Van Der-Drift died as a result of an accident.
The causes given were: aspiration pneumonia, ingestion of a toxic substance (detergent) and dementia.
It was noted that there was no evidence that the care she received at home in Regent’s Park in any way caused or contributed to her death.
Marjolein, Mrs. Van Der-Drift’s daughter, described her mother as ‘truly fearless’ and an avid traveller.
Philip Malpass, chief executive of the UK Cleaning Products Industry Association, said: ‘Like all other home cleaning products, laundry pods should be stored in a safe place where vulnerable people cannot easily access them.’
A government spokesman said: “We will carefully study the coroner’s report to understand the circumstances of this case.”
A spokesman for Riverside, the company that manages the sheltered housing where the pensioner lived for seven years, said: “We would like to express our deepest condolences to Mrs Van Der-Drift’s family.”