An Irish woman has died of an accidental paracetamol overdose, an inquest has confirmed. Medical staff made every effort to save the mother of two but the overdose proved fatal.
31-year-old Arlene O’Hara was placed on the urgent transplant list as her liver had failed. The Belfast woman was airlifted to King’s College Hospital in London for specialist treatment. Mrs O’Hara suffered an acute brain haemorrhage on March 24 and died just before 10pm on March 25.
Mrs O’Hara had a habit of “chronic self-medication”and may have increased this in the days leading up to her hospitalisation. She had been experiencing flu-like symptoms and diarrhoea. The coroner said that a high level of paracetamol was found in her blood.
Messages of support flooded in for her family on social media. One friend posted: “She was one in a million that touched the hearts of everyone she met.” The family recently made a donation to the Royal Victoria Hospital Liver Support Group after raising £3,200.