Elderly dementia sufferer, 93, searching for food ate toxic detergent tablets that were in brightly coloured wrappers that she mistook for sweets

A dementia sufferer aged 93 was fatally poisoned after eating laundry tablets that she mistook for sweets, an inquest heard.

The death of Elizabeth Van Der-Drift prompted a coroner to write to the Health Secretary and the cleaning products trade body in a bid to look at how the tablets are packaged.

The former nurse’s dementia meant she could not recall when she last consumed food and would often go in search of something to eat, the inquest into her death heard earlier this month.

She awoke at her sheltered housing in March and found the laundry detergent tablets, which were brightly coloured.

Ian Potter, assistant coroner for Inner North London, said: ‘Given the nature of the packaging and the tablets/pods, I determined that, given her cognitive impairment as a result of the dementia, Ms Van Der-Drift likely believed that they were some form of sweet or confectionery.’

An inquest at Inner North London Coroner’s Court heard that Ms Van Der-Drift was in sheltered housing when the incident took place

After biting into a tablet, Ms Van Der-Drift complained of stomach pain and shortness of breath. An ambulance took her to hospital where she received treatment but her condition deteriorated and she died in hospital on March 19.

Mr Potter issued a Prevention of Future Deaths report to Wes Streeting as well as the head of the UK Cleaning Product Industry Association and the boss of the Office for Product Safety and Standards after hearing evidence ‘giving rise to concern’.

He said: ‘The overarching concern here is that laundry tablets/pods and their packaging are being produced in a way that, by virtue of their bright colouring, appearance, and packaging, are being confused with food by people living with dementia or other cognitive impairment. 

‘The issue is, in my opinion, compounded when one considers that the products themselves are far from innocuous in the event of their accidental ingestion.’

The inquest concluded that Ms Van Der-Drift suffered an accidental death. 

The cause was given as aspiration pneumonia, ingestion of a toxic substance (laundry detergent) and dementia. 

It noted there was no evidence that the care provided to her at her home in Regent’s Park caused or contributed to her death in any way.

Marjolein, Ms Van Der-Drift’s daughter, described her mother as ‘genuinely fearless’ as well as a keen traveller.

Philip Malpass, director general at the UK Cleaning Products Industry Association, said: ‘Like any other household cleaning products, laundry capsules need to be stored in a secure place where vulnerable individuals cannot easily access them.’

A Government spokesman said: ‘We will carefully consider the coroner’s report to understand the circumstances in this case.’

A spokesman for Riverside, the firm that runs the sheltered housing where the pensioner lived for seven years, said: ‘We would like to extend our deepest sympathies to Ms Van Der-Drift’s family.’