Rita Britten, 54, was being held in a special wing at Dewsbury Hospital when she died after choking on an apple, a Bradford Coroner’s Court jury inquest ruled
Rita Britten died after eating an apple at Dewsbury Hospital
A woman who was “full of joy” when she was suffering from mental health problems and choked on an apple, heard a jury inquest.
Rita Britten, a 54-year-old divorcee, was being held in a special wing at Dewsbury Hospital when she died, she said YorkshireLive.
She lived at Lyndhurst Hospital, a rehabilitation centre, in Elland as well as her usual place of residence before being transferred to the Priestley Unit of Dewsbury Hospital and dying on 29 July 2018.
The Bradford Coroner’s Court hearing heard how she had suffered from severe mental health issues since she was a teenager and how her son Andrew was her carer for 12 years from 2003 to 2015.
He said she was in love with American superstar singer Bruno Mars.
They had lived happily in it Scarborough many years without problems before the fateful move to West Yorkshire.
He broke down in tears as he told the court that he did not find her care satisfactory.
When Asst Coroner John Broadbridge asked if he was happy with his mother’s care, he replied, “Not at all.”
He said she was devastated and heartbroken by the staff’s decision not to allow her to attend her mother’s funeral in late June 2018.
And he asked how she died while eating an apple.
He insisted his mother never eat apples, saying her favorite fruit was bananas and she would not eat soft fruits like oranges even if they were peeled for her.
Your doctor in charge, Dr. Sara Davies, a 36-year consultant psychiatrist who has cared for Rita for many years, said she can be “directly lovable” and that when she is well, she is “filled with joy.”
However, when her mood turned negative, “she became distressed, screamed, and thrashed.”
And she said that when she wasn’t feeling well, she “tended to eat her food faster.”
The court heard there had been eight recorded choking incidents between 2014 and 2018. On the day of her death, she grabbed an apple and put it in her mouth, resulting in her tragic death.
Ms Britten was hospitalized for three days after the incident and died at Pinderfields Hospital.
The investigation is expected to last all week.