Finding into death of Annette Kelly

AI-generated summary

Annette Kelly, 74 years old, died from aspiration pneumonia at Wantirna Palliative Care after brief hospitalisation at Box Hill Hospital in October 2025. She was a long-term Specialist Disability Accommodation resident with intellectual disability, profound learning disability, dysphagia (difficulty swallowing), and a troubling history of recurrent aspiration pneumonia (four episodes documented in 2024 alone). Non-verbal and requiring full assistance with all movements and personal care including continence management and meals, she developed respiratory symptoms in mid-September 2025 and received antibiotic treatment that initially appeared to improve her condition. However, she declined sharply by late September, was hospitalised on 1 October, and despite receiving intravenous antibiotics continued to deteriorate clinically. She was transferred to palliative care where she died on 18 October. The coroner found no want of clinical management by Scope disability services or Eastern Health clinicians and determined her death resulted from natural causes.

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