Queensland Health and the state’s Opioid Treatment Program will face scrutiny in an upcoming inquest into the fatal prescription drug overdose of an Albion woman. The inquiry, scheduled to begin on December 9, will examine the death of Alexandria Catherine Forrester, 39, who succumbed to methadone toxicity in September 2021.
Forrester was found unresponsive in her Albion home on September 20, 2021, and passed away in hospital the following day. A pre-inquest conference at the Brisbane Coroner’s Court revealed that Peter Morrow, a friend of Forrester’s, had collected her prescribed methadone doses from Brisbane Compounding Pharmacy on the morning of the incident, despite not being authorised to do so.
The inquest will delve into several crucial aspects of Forrester’s case, including:
- The appropriateness of her treatment under the Queensland Opioid Treatment Program
- The dispensation of methadone to Forrester and Morrow
- The adequacy of Queensland Health measures in addressing concerns or non-compliance between health service providers and pharmacists
- Whether any individual’s actions contributed to Forrester’s death
Forrester’s complex medical history, including asthma, Hepatitis C, chronic pain, and a history of heroin abuse, will be considered. The court heard that she had been flagged as “a doctor shopper” and was allowed to self-administer six methadone doses per week, with one dose to be taken under supervision.
Concerns about Forrester’s medication regimen had been raised previously. In May 2020, following a hospital admission, staff alerted Queensland Health’s monitored medicines unit and Forrester’s GP about the number and combination of her medications, as well as her access to takeaway methadone doses.
The four-day inquest is expected to call up to 10 witnesses, including Morrow, Forrester’s current and former GPs, and the pharmacists who dispensed her medication.
Published 9-October-2024