Our 3 daughters died within weeks of each other at same hospital – they cried for help but were doped up like zombies

THREE women died within weeks of each other at the same hospital, inquests have revealed.

Deseree Fitzpatrick, 30, Lauren Bridges, 20, and Beth Matthews, 26, died at the Priory Hospital Cheadle Royal in Stockport from January to March last year.

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All three were NHS patients that were referred to the privately-run psychiatric unit for personality disorder treatment.

Their deaths occurred on three separate wards and are not linked, but the same coroner reviewed their tragic cases.

Deseree died on January 23, 2022, four days after being admitted.

She choked on her medication because her drug regime was “inappropriate”, the inquest heard.

Deseree had been given a range of sedative drugs that impacted her ability to vomit normally, which led to her death, the court was told.

Coroner Andrew Bridgman said: “In short, Deseree died because she had been sedated to such an extent that her gag reflex was lost or suppressed allowing gastric contents to enter her lungs during sleep and this caused her death.”

Her mum Angela said Deseree “was so doped up she was like a zombie” when she visited her.

She demanded an enquiry into the hospital after the inquest, telling the Manchester Evening News she hates “the place with a passion”.

Angela said: “I would happily see it razed to the ground, that’s how strongly I feel.

“I just feel like there’s been no accountability or consequences. 

“It’s as if now the inquests are done, that’s it. But it isn’t for us. I’ll live with this until my dying day.”

Meanwhile, a jury last month ruled delays in moving Lauren closer to home led to her condition deteriorating before she died on February 24 that year.

Her move to the hospital — which was 250 miles from her family in Dorset — was supposed to be temporary but she had been there for nine months before she lost her life.

She had anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder, as well as autism, and had been sectioned under the Mental Health Act.

Her mother Lindsey said she was “very let down” by the “system that should have helped and supported her”.

Lauren was “screaming hysterically, begging me to get her out” prior to her death, she said.

She said she felt the hospital “did not offer the support or therapy Lauren required”.

Finally, Beth, a mental health blogger from Cornwall, tragically died on March 21.

She swallowed a poisonous substance she had ordered on the internet after moving to Cheadle Royal’s Fern Unit, which is dedicated to personality disorders.

Beth broke away from staff trying to restrain her to swallow it and was quickly rushed to Wythenshawe Hospital, but resuscitation attempts were unsuccessful.

Her family said her death was “wholly avoidable and completely unnecessary”, adding they had been “tragically let down by the Priory”.

A spokesperson for the hospital said: “The unexpected death of a patient within any of our services is extremely sad, and our thoughts are with those who knew and loved them. 

“These deaths in early 2022, although extremely tragic, are completely unconnected and happened on three separate wards offering different clinical services. 

“We have conducted our own investigations into these individual incidents, and co-operated fully with the inquest process, ensuring where shortcomings were identified we made changes, and shared learnings throughout our organisation. 

“With nearly 500 people admitted last year, Cheadle Royal Hospital cares for some of the most complex and acutely unwell patients in the country and while it is impossible to eliminate risk, unexpected deaths are still rare. 

“We remain committed to ensuring we provide the highest quality and safest services to the people we support.”

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