Finding into death of Kerry Patricia Johnston
Deceased
Kerry Patricia Johnston
Demographics
63y, female
Date of death
2022-12-26
Finding date
2024-11-15
Cause of death
Aspiration event in the setting of cerebral palsy, intellectual disability, and bowel cancer
AI-generated summary
Kerry Patricia Johnston, a 63-year-old woman with cerebral palsy, intellectual disability, and bowel cancer, died from aspiration on 26 December 2022 at Mildura Base Hospital. She had been discharged four days earlier following three hospitalisations in the preceding months. She was readmitted on 23 December with a new aspiration event and deteriorated despite treatment. The coroner found no evidence of deficient clinical management by hospital staff or her disability support provider. The death was from natural causes. People with intellectual disability have elevated aspiration risk; clinicians should maintain high vigilance for swallowing difficulties, ensure appropriate dietary modifications, and implement aspiration precautions in this vulnerable population.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Specialties
Contributing factors
- intellectual disability
- cerebral palsy
- swallowing difficulties
- bowel cancer
- declining health status
Full text
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