"POISONED IN ERROR”

Greymouth Evening Star, 12 September 1927, Page 4

"POISONED IN ERROR”

AN INFIRMARY MYSTERY. An open verdict was returned at tho adjourned inquest at Guildford: (England) on two women inmates of Guildford Infirmary who died after receiving medicine thought to be a liquorice powder. Mr Edward Hinks, public analyst, said he found in the organs of the two women a considerable trace of compound of lobelia powder, but no trace of liquorice powder. Miss Millicent Dilk, superintending nurse at the infirmary, said that she supplied the matron with a quantity of liquorice powder for the infirm ward. When the matron told her that four people who had this liquorice powder had been sick, she had the bottle containing the liquorice powder washed out.

One of the inmates, a man named Albert Lee, was said to be in possession of lebelia powder upon admission to the infirmary. An attendant said that she gave four women in the infirm ward medicine from a bottle of liquorice powder. The powder was darker than usual, and she called the matron’s attention to it. As it smelled like -liquorice powder she used it. After an absence of a quarter of an hour the jury returned an open verdict, the foreman remarking that the women died of lobelia powder administered in error. “We should like to add,” he said, “that there was negligence on the part of the institution in the administration of the drug.” The Coroner: In what way? The Foreman: When' the nurse found it was darker than usual it should have been sent back directly.