An elderly woman with dementia tragically died after mistaking laundry capsules for sweets, leading to an urgent warning from a coroner. Elizabeth van der Drift, aged 93, experienced stomach ache and shortness of breath on March 19 after consuming the toxic tablets and subsequently passed away in the hospital.
The inquest into her death concluded that the direct cause was the hazardous consumption of these laundry pods, with aspiration pneumonia and her pre-existing dementia also listed as contributing factors. The inquiry highlighted that the packaging of the laundry pods closely resembled a bag of sweets, as noted in the Prevention of Future Deaths report (PFD).
Assistant Coroner Ian Potter, based in central north London, voiced concerns over the current regulations, which he felt did not adequately account for the risks to individuals with dementia. Potter detailed how van der Drift, who had suffered from dementia for several years, accessed and bit into these brightly colored detergent pods.
He criticized the design of the product’s packaging, pointing out that it failed to prevent access by someone with even minimal manual dexterity, describing the pods as resembling sweets. Despite prompt medical attention following her ingestion of the pods, van der Drift died in the hospital a few days later.
The Prevention of Future Deaths report acknowledged the known risks associated with laundry products concerning children but raised questions about the awareness of these risks for those with cognitive impairments. The coroner emphasized that targeting just one manufacturer with warnings would be insufficient due to the widespread nature of the packaging design across the industry.
The report was forwarded to significant figures, including the CEO of the Office for Product Safety and Standards, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, and the director general of the UK Cleaning Product Industry Association. These recipients are required to respond to the coroner’s concerns by October 8, unless an extension is granted by the coroner. This tragic incident underscores the urgent need for regulatory changes to protect vulnerable populations from similarly avoidable dangers.
