Beth Shipsey: Nurses missed note on diet pill drugs

Nurses who were looking after Bethany Shipsey said they did not know about the effects of the drug DNP

Two nurses have admitted that they did not read notes on the effects of a drug that a woman they were caring for had overdosed on.

Bethany Shipsey, 21, from Worcester, died after taking tablets containing the substance DNP in February 2017.

Giving evidence at an inquest, nurses Alice Parker and Lisa Webb said they did not know what the drug was.

Both said they did not read a print-out from Toxbase, a database which gives information about the effects of drugs.

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The nurses now said it was something they would do in a similar situation.

The hearing, in its second day, also heard Ms Shipsey was taken from a ward where seriously ill patients are given constant monitoring, despite notes saying she should not be moved.

Ms Webb said they moved her because she was the "least unwell" of four patients in the resuscitation room, and they wanted to bring another seriously ill patient in.

Ms Shipsey only returned to that room after her condition deteriorated, and later died after a cardiac arrest.

Both nurses said they were doing their best to look after Ms Shipsey, but described Worcestershire Royal Hospital as being "very busy".

Bethany was having ongoing treatment for mental health issues and had previously been warned about the dangers of taking diet pills

At one point Miss Parker had to be called away to help another patient who needed an x-ray, and when she returned, Ms Shipsey's condition had worsened significantly.

The hearing was also told how Carol Shipsey felt her daughter wasn't being looked after properly by staff.

The hearing is expected to last five days at Worcester Coroner's Court and will resume on Thursday.