A MOTHER has warned of the dangers of taking too much paracetamol after her daughter accidentally overdosed on the drug.

Coroner Geraint Williams yesterday ruled Donna Bishop’s liver failure had been due to the non-dependent abuse of the painkiller.

A two-day inquest heard how the 25-year-old, of Swallowfields, Warndon Villages, became unwell with a cold over Christmas and was self-medicating with paracetamol, Lemsips and cough mixture.

She was admitted to Worcestershire Royal Hospital in the early hours of Tuesday, January 4, but died later that evening after being transferred to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.

Blood tests taken at first admission revealed paracetamol levels in her blood were well below that which would require treatment.

Dr Ian Gee, consultant gastroenterologist at the Royal, said this could have been because her intake of the drug had been a prolonged one and not a sudden ingestion of lots of pills.

The court was told staff at the hospital had questioned whether or not she had consumed illicit drugs or alcohol because she was confused, jittery and restless.

However, this was a symptom of encephalopathy – when the liver is unable to remove toxins from the body and they get into the bloodstream.

While family and friends admitted Miss Bishop – a sports instructor at the University of Worcester – liked to “work hard and party hard”, they insisted she was completely sober at the time of her admission to hospital.

Mr Williams asked if more could have or should have been done in the course of treating Miss Bishop for liver failure.

Dr Gee and Dr Ramakrishnan Arulraj, who recommended her transfer to the specialist liver unit at the QE, agreed treatment could have started sooner, but the damage was to the extent it was unlikely she would have survived past when she did.

Dr Gee said an internal investigation had been conducted following Miss Bishop’s death and as a result a number of checks had since been put in place.

Mr Williams said although Miss Bishop was on anti-depressants at the time, he did not believe she had committed suicide.

Her mum Nicky Worton, of Hartlebury, described Miss Bishop as a “very bubbly girl” and “a lovely mother” who “always helped other people before herself”.

Speaking after the inquest, she said: “Even now I look back and I still can’t believe how quickly things deteriorated.

“I think it’s important people are aware of how easy it is to actually overdose.

"You only have to do it once or twice. Paracetamol is a really safe drug but at the same time it can be harmful.”