Disabled woman who died in Sheffield hospital ‘ignored’, parents tell inquest

The parents of a young disabled woman who died after she went into hospital for a routine eye operation have told a coroner that doctors ignored their daughter’s attempts to communicate.

Laura Booth, 21, stopped eating after she was admitted to the Royal Hallamshire hospital in Sheffield, her mother told an inquest hearing in the city on Monday.

Patricia Booth, from Sheffield, said her daughter was ignored by clinicians after she went into the hospital in October 2016 despite her being able to communicate to some extent, including using Makaton signing. She said this was in contrast to her treatment at the Children’s hospital in the city.

Sitting next to her husband, Ken, on a remote link, Booth told the inquest: “They never discussed anything with Laura. They just ignored her. She couldn’t speak but she could understand everything.”

Booth explained how her daughter could make herself understood to her family and would hold her hands out to the doctors, but did not get a response.

“They never gave her a chance,” she said. “They never spoke to her.

“It’s really heartbreaking. Laura was trying to communicate with them but they just wouldn’t listen … It just upset Laura that the doctors ignored her.”

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Source: The Guardian, 12 April 2021