Pharmacists, GPs to be questioned over patient’s fatal prescription drug overdose

Queensland Health and the state’s Opioid Treatment Program will be put under the microscope during an inquiry later this year into a Brisbane woman’s fatal prescription drug overdose.

The inquest will investigate a Brisbane woman’s overdose on prescription drugs.

Queensland Health and the state’s Opioid Treatment Program will be put under the microscope during an inquiry later this year into a Brisbane woman’s fatal prescription drug overdose.

Alexandria Catherine Forrester, 39, was found unconscious and not breathing in her Albion home on the morning of September 20, 2021 and she died in hospital the next day.

An autopsy ruled her cause of death was related to methadone toxicity – a controlled prescription medication used to treat Opioid Use Disorder.

A pre-inquest conference in Brisbane Coroner’s Court on Tuesday heard that although Ms Forrester lived alone, she had a friend – Peter Morrow – who collected groceries and prescribed methadone doses for her.

The court was told although he was not licensed to collect Ms Forrester’s medication on her behalf, Mr Morrow did so around 8.15am that day at Brisbane Compounding Pharmacy.

He then went to get groceries. He came back to Ms Forrester’s home to find her unconscious and not breathing around 10.40am, and called triple-zero.

Paramedics noted evidence of three used methadone doses inside Ms Forrester’s home, and although they were able to revive her, a CT scan later showed that she had suffered a severe hypoxic brain injury and she died in hospital the next day.

The pre-inquest conference heard on Tuesday that Ms Forrester’s allowed her to self-administer six methadone doses per week, and administer one further methadone dose in front of an authorised pharmacist.

Her prescription allowed her or an accredited BlueCare worker to collect the medication. Mr Morrow was not a BlueCare carer, the court was told.

The court heard that Ms Forrester would often cancel the BlueCare appointments saying she was unwell or another BlueCare worker had already collected her medication.

The court heard that Ms Forrester had a complicated medical history including asthma, Hepatitis C, seizures, chronic pain, bipolar, depression, acquired brain injury, and insomnia.

She also had a history of heroin abuse and opioid overdoses and she had been flagged as “a doctor shopper”.

The coronial hearing was told that in May 2020 Ms Forrester was admitted to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital for six nights after presenting with confusion.

Staff raised concerns with Qld Health’s monitored medicines unit and Ms Forrester’s treating GP about the number of medications she was either carrying or had prescriptions for, the potential effects of their combination, and the number of takeaway methadone doses she could access each week.

The coronial inquest will examine whether the treatment Ms Forrester received under the Queensland Opioid Treatment Program was appropriate and in accordance with clinical guidelines, whether the dispensation of methadone to her and Mr Morrow was appropriate, whether there are adequate Queensland Health measures are in place to address any concerns or noncompliance between health services providers and pharmacists, and whether the actions of any person caused or contributed to Ms Forrester’s death.

The inquest will commence on December 9 and run for four days. There is expected to be up to 10 witnesses called including Mr Morrow, Ms Forrester’s current and former GPs, and the pharmacists who dispensed her medication.