Coroner finds 'missed opportunities' in anorexia patient care

Maria Jakes suffered from anorexia and died in September 2018

Agencies involved in the care of a young woman with anorexia "missed opportunities" to properly monitor her illness, a coroner has concluded.

Maria Jakes, 24, from Orton Brimbles, Peterborough, died of multiple organ failure in September 2018.

Sean Horstead cited insufficient record-keeping and a failure to notify eating disorder specialists in the weeks before her death.

"Taken together these factors possibly contributed to her death," he said.

Ms Jakes, who was a waitress, had battled anorexia nervosa since the age of 12 and was also diagnosed with a personality disorder, the inquest in Huntingdon was told.

She was allowed to report her own weight to doctors because she was sensitive to perceived interference by health professionals.

• 'No link' found yet between eating disorder deaths

• My daughter's anorexia was a 'descent into hell'

• Eating disorder failures 'destroying lives'

The inquest was told Ms Jakes had been discharged from an eating disorder ward at Addenbrooke's Hospital in January 2018, but there had been "insufficient monitoring" of her weight before her admission to Peterborough City Hospital in July.

A failure by staff to notify eating disorder services of her admission led to a "missed opportunity for consideration of the escalation of risk", Mr Horstead said.

She was transferred to Addenbrooke's Hospital in August.

A "lack of specialist eating disorder dieticians at Addenbrookes and Peterborough, together with a nursing team insufficiently trained and knowledgeable of eating disorder patients contributed to insufficient monitoring of Maria, especially at mealtimes - and recording of intake was inadequate," the coroner said.

Ms Jakes' death is one of five related to eating disorders that Mr Horstead is examining between 2012 and 2018 in the East of England.

He said he had so far made "no finding, conclusion or determination as to whether there is a definitive link" between them.

If you are affected by any of the issues in this story, you can talk in confidence to eating disorders charity Beat by calling its adult helpline on 0808 801 0677 or youth helpline on 0808 801 0711.