97yearold mayo woman died in supported accommodation

A 97-year-old woman who fractured her neck after falling down a stairs in 'supported accommodation' at Newport Road, Castlebar, was afterwards placed in a stair lift and returned to her upstairs bedroom, an inquest was told today.

The circumstances of the death of Norah Forde, a widow and retired civil servant, on August 31 last was explored in an inquest conducted by the coroner for south Mayo, John O’Dwyer.

After hearing the evidence of a number of witnesses, the coroner returned a verdict of misadventure.

The medical cause of death, according to Dr. Tamas Nemeth, consultant pathologist, who carried out a post mortem, was a 'fatal spinal chord injury due to a fracture of the neck due to a fall'.

The deceased woman had been living at Newport Road in ‘supported accommodation’.

Returning a verdict of misadventure, the coroner said that having Norah upstairs was not in her best interests and he noted a recommendation about a stair gate which had not been implemented.