Elderly woman died in King's Lynn hospital after catching coronavirus, inquest told

An elderly woman with a history of lung disease and other health conditions died in Lynn's Queen Elizabeth Hospital after contracting coronavirus.

An inquest has today heard how Lilian May Smith also suffered a bleed on the brain following during her stay at the Gayton Road site.

However, the injury was not considered to be the primary cause of her death.

Mrs Smith, 84, of Hedgelands, Wisbech, died on January 10 this year, more than three weeks after she was admitted to the QEH with low oxygen levels.

The hearing, held remotely at the Norfolk Coroners' Court, was told she had a history of conditions including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and hypertension.

The court also heard that her health had gradually deteriorated following a hip replacement operation in late 2019.

She had complained of pain in her hip following a fall several weeks before she was admitted to hospital, though an X-ray revealed no fractures.

Mrs Smith was admitted to the QEH on December 17, 2020, where she initially tested negative for coronavirus.

But she was later found to have contracted the virus after a fall in which she sustained a bleed on the brain and a blood clot on her lung.

However, area coroner Yvonne Blake said a post-mortem had found the primary cause of death was Covid-19 and pneumonia, which would have been exacerbated by her existing conditions.

She concluded that Mrs Smith had died of natural causes.