A WOMAN who died of a paracetamol overdose was behaving “bizarrely” the day before she died, an inquest has heard.

Witnesses told an inquest that Donna Bishop had been forgetful and hallucinating before she was admitted to Worcestershire Royal Hospital. She had also become jaundiced.

Miss Bishop had been suffering from a cold two weeks before she died on January 4 and was self-medicating with Lemsip, paracetamol and cough medicine.

During a trip to Scotland before new year, friend Siobhan Dunn said she felt the 25-year-old’s consumption of over-the-counter drugs was high and she had been sick several times.

This led Miss Bishop to take more medication as she believed the previous dose would no longer have an effect.

The mother-of-one visited her doctor on December 31 and he diagnosed her with a chest infection and prescribed antibiotics.

Friend Catherine Hill stayed with Miss Bishop over new year and described how she had developed ulcers in her mouth and was finding it hard to swallow. She said Miss Bishop continued to take paracetamol, Lemsip, and Ibrufen.

On January 2 Miss Bishop was seen by a doctor who confirmed she had redness in her throat and prescribed her cocodamol and a throat spray.

Ms Hill stayed with her friend overnight and the following morning Miss Bishop had developed a cyst in her mouth and her urine had become red.

Miss Bishop’s sister Kerrie Bishop visited her home in Swallowfield, Warndon Villages, the next day.

She found her acting strangely, describing her as forgetful, yellow and unsteady on her feet.

Concerned, they returned to A&E but left when they became frustrated with the long wait to see someone.

When Miss Bishop later told her neighbour Gemma Hughes’ she had left all her belongings on a plane, Kerrie Bishop decided to call an ambulance.

Back at A&E she was seen by Dr Curtis Fasey, who considered her to be coherent.

Dr Fasey said she was not sure what the cause of her jaundice might be and sought advice from the senior registrar who advised her to conduct more tests, including one for paracetamol, but Miss Bishop left the hospital before she could do them.

Miss Bishop was readmitted to hospital at 2.30am on January 4 where she was given a bed on the gynaecological ward.

Staff reported her being “fidgety” and restless, and that she was also having hallucinations, believing she was back in Scotland.

But nurse practitioner Andrew Eggleton said she had seemed lucid and was able to answer direct questions without slurring her speech. She had denied taking paracetamol.

She died later that day and a pathologist report concluded her death was due to liver failure caused by a paracetamol overdose.

The inquest is due to continue today.