Coroner's Finding: Youd, Diane Maree
Deceased
Diane Maree Youd
Demographics
60y, female
Date of death
2021-11-08/2021-11-21
Finding date
2022-08-11
Cause of death
undetermined; natural causes not excluded (possible paraganglioma infarction, pneumonia, or acute cardiac event); self-neglect as contributing circumstance
AI-generated summary
A 60-year-old woman with depression, recent acute kidney injury from dehydration, and suicidal ideation was discharged from hospital on 27 August 2021 after psychiatric improvement. She was prescribed increased Sertraline but her brother-in-law found all discharge medications still sealed, suggesting non-compliance. Police visited on 8 November 2021 after welfare concerns and found her apparently unwell but refusing assistance. She was found deceased on 21 November 2021. Post-mortem examination could not determine cause of death due to decomposition, though natural causes (possible paraganglioma infarction or pneumonia) could not be excluded. The coroner noted self-neglect as a contributing factor. Key clinical lessons include ensuring medication compliance post-discharge, robust follow-up for high-risk psychiatric patients, and escalating welfare concerns when patients are isolated and refusing support.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Specialties
Error types
Drugs involved
Contributing factors
- major depression with suicidal ideation
- medication non-compliance post-discharge
- self-neglect and poor oral intake
- dehydration and acute kidney injury
- social isolation
- inadequate follow-up after psychiatric discharge
- decomposition limiting post-mortem findings
Full text
Source and disclaimer
This page reproduces or summarises information from publicly available findings published by Australian coroners' courts. Coronial is an independent educational resource and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of any coronial court or government body.
Content may be incomplete, reformatted, or summarised. All court orders for redaction and non-publication are respected; documents with technically defective redaction have been excluded from the database entirely. Always refer to the original court publication for the authoritative record.
Copyright in original materials remains with the relevant government jurisdiction. AI-generated summaries and tagging are for educational purposes only, may contain inaccuracies, and must not be treated as legal documents. We welcome feedback for correction —