Deceased
Christina Mifsud
Demographics
45y, female
Coroner
Coroner Kim M. W. Parkinson
Date of death
2012-07-04
Finding date
2013-10-01
Cause of death
Combined Drug Toxicity
AI-generated summary
Christina Mifsud, aged 45, died from combined drug toxicity including methadone, diazepam, paroxetine and cannabis. She accessed methadone prescribed to her partner stored unsecured in their home. The coroner identified that take-away methadone dosing lacks effective supervision of secure storage arrangements. Guidelines recommend safe storage advice but do not specify who oversees compliance or what enforcement mechanisms exist. Among 124 methadone-related deaths in Victoria (2010-2011), 21 involved diverted take-away doses. The coroner found the practice of relying solely on patients to secure storage is inherently risky given addiction-related unreliability. Key clinical lessons: take-away opioid dosing requires verified secure storage protocols, regulatory oversight of storage safety is essential before dispensing, and healthcare providers must consider household access risks when prescribing controlled substances.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes. Report an inaccuracy.
Specialties
Error types
Drugs involved
Clinical conditions
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44y · Male·Unascertained
Mark Skidmore, a 44-year-old man, died in Port Phillip Prison on 14 February 2017. Post-mortem examination revealed multiple prescribed drugs (methadone, mirtazapine, pregabalin) and unprescribed drugs (clonazepam, trama…
32y · Male·Multidrug overdose
A 32-year-old man with a history of polysubstance abuse, schizoaffective disorder, and chronic pain died from multidrug overdose at home. He had obtained fentanyl, clonazepam, diazepam, methadone, and other drugs from mu…
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