Finding into death of Lynn Maree Sturgess

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Lynn Maree Sturgess, aged 65, a long-term resident of supported disability accommodation with cerebral palsy and well-controlled epilepsy, was admitted to Bendigo Hospital with febrile illness in May 2025. She was diagnosed with rhinovirus infection and bacterial bronchopneumonia, complicated by hyponatremia. During her illness, Lynn became drowsy and had difficulty taking oral feeds and medications—a pattern established during previous infections. She experienced increasing seizures despite reduced oral anti-epileptic medication intake. Her treating team initiated intravenous alternatives, which proved unsuccessful. The Coroners Prevention Unit reviewed her medical care and found it reasonable, consistent with both her established treatment patterns and her family's wishes for comfort-focused care. Palliation was commenced, and Lynn was transferred to hospice where she died peacefully on 22 May 2025. The coroner accepted the forensic pathologist's cause of death as bronchopneumonia and rhinovirus infection. The case illustrates the complexity of managing infections in disabled elderly patients requiring supportive living arrangements and the importance of individualised, family-centered palliative care approaches.

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