Weetabix death: Hospitals must improve coeliac care, says charity

Hospitals must improve care for coeliac patients after a woman died from being fed Weetabix, a charity has said.

Coeliac UK called Hazel Pearson's death "shocking" following mistakes by Betsi Cadwaladr health board staff.

The 79-year-old from Connah's Quay, Flintshire, was fed the cereal despite warnings from her family and her medical notes stating she was coeliac.

An inquest found her death was contributed to by neglect.

Tristan Humphreys, Coeliac UK's head of advocacy, said Mrs Pearson's death "constitutes a clear failure of care that should never have been allowed to happen".

"Whilst this is a particularly shocking example, it reflects a system that far too often fails those with coeliac disease when they need it most," he added.

Coeliac disease is a condition where your immune system attacks tissues in the body when you eat gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye and barley.

Mr Humphreys said a survey by Coeliac UK found 70% of respondents felt catering and medical staff had poor or very poor knowledge of gluten-free diets and the risk of cross-contamination.

More than three quarters of respondents said they had family or friends bring them gluten-free food while they were in hospital.

"Wales has mandatory food standards which make very clear the level of care that should be provided, yet these have not been met," he said, explaining how the charity was "providing advice and guidance to support safe provision of gluten-free food".

"It's high time the health service consistently delivered the care people with coeliac disease [need]," he added.

Mrs Pearson fell ill hours after eating Weetabix at Wrexham Maelor Hospital on 26 November 2021.

She breathed material from her stomach into her lungs and died of aspiration pneumonia four days later.

At an inquest in 2022, assistant coroner Kate Robertson found the hospital should have known about Mrs Pearson's dietary restrictions, but had "inadequate systems in place".

The inquest also heard that months before Mrs Pearson's death she was also given meals containing gluten four times while at Deeside community hospital.

Ms Robertson said she would issue a warning to Betsi Cadwaladr health board about a risk of future deaths.

The health board, which was also criticised for reacting too slowly to Mrs Pearson's death, said it was reviewing the findings and would take action.