Coroner's Finding: OHalloran, Emma Louise

48y · Female·multiple drug toxicity consisting of flecainide, lorazepam and diazepam

A 48-year-old woman died from multiple drug toxicity (flecainide, lorazepam, diazepam) following a deliberate overdose. She was located by police after a search and detained under the Mental Health Act. Critical delays occurred in ambulance dispatch due to InterCAD system failures and pager issues at Kapunda Station, causing a 48-minute gap before SAAS learned she had been found. Despite timely CPR initiation, the ingestion of a lethal flecainide dose (approximately 750mg) made the death not preventable. Clinical lessons include the catastrophic cardiac toxicity of flecainide overdose and the importance of reliable inter-agency communication systems in emergency response.