An 87-year-old woman in Manchester, UK, died of hypothermia. In the investigation into her death, it appears that she refused to turn on the heat – for fear of high electricity bills, The Guardian reports. It was at the beginning of December last year that the woman’s grandson found her slumped at the kitchen table, unable to speak. The woman was taken to hospital, where her body temperature was measured at 28 degrees. She died on January 5 of pneumonia as a result of hypothermia. The family pleaded In the inquest that followed her death, it emerged that her family repeatedly urged her to turn on the heat in their terraced house, and not worry about the high electricity bills – but the woman refused. Even in the hospital’s medical records, it appears that the woman had not turned on her heat for “fear of high electricity bills.” According to her son, family members had daily contact with the woman, and visited her often. The family also bought several heaters, but the woman only wanted to use some kind of heat when she had visitors. “Wouldn’t do anything differently” A coroner says in the investigation that it is clear how the family tried to take care of the woman. His conclusion is that she died of an unfortunate mishap. – She was clearly stuck in the fact that she couldn’t turn on the heat for some reason. No matter what anyone said to her, she wouldn’t have done anything differently, says the coroner. According to the woman’s son, she worked as a pharmacy assistant until she was 82 years old. In her journals it appears that she barely visited a general practitioner during her entire life. Having lived in the area for 50 years, the Daily Mail reported how neighbors were shocked after her death. A neighbor says the woman had lived in the area for nearly 50 years. Another neighbor describes her as very nice. – I hadn’t seen her for a few weeks, it’s so sad. She was a really nice woman and lived here for many years. But lately she kept to herself.
t4-general
87-year-old woman died of cold: Refused heat – for fear of electricity bills
