Pensioner died from hypothermia after turning heating off in her home

Pensioner died from hypothermia after turning off the heating in her home over winter as she grew fearful about spiralling energy costs, inquest hears

• Barbara Bolton, 87, was found by her grandson sitting in her freezing kitchen
• The pensioner was taken to Fairfield General Hospital in Bury, where she died

A pensioner died from hypothermia after turning the heating off in her home over winter as she was worried about spiralling energy costs, an inquest heard.   

Barbara Bolton, 87, was found by her paramedic grandson sitting in the freezing kitchen of her terraced home before she passed away in a hospital four weeks later.

Senior Coroner Ms Joanne Kearsley read statements from her family, which described how they had told her ‘not to worry’ about her energy bills before Christmas.

They had even provided her with mobile heaters so she could stay warm as the cold weather crept in last year. 

But when Ms Bolton failed to pick up her phone on December 11, 2022, her grandson Nathan used a key to enter her home to find her sitting at the kitchen table, unable to speak.

Barbara Bolton, 87, died from hypothermia after turning the heating off in her terraced home over winter as she was worried about spiralling energy costs, an inquest heard

Ms Bolton was found unable to speak in the freezing home by her grandson and rushed to Fairfield General Hospital in an ambulance, where doctors confirmed she had a temperature of just 28c and was suffering from profound hypothermia

Ms Bolton was rushed to hospital in an ambulance, where doctors confirmed she had a temperature of just 28c and was suffering from profound hypothermia.

Tests later revealed she had vascular dementia, before she passed away on January 5 this year. Her primary cause of death was listed as recurrent pneumonia.

Ms Kearsley, recording a verdict of misadventure, said: ‘Obviously her death was linked to hypothermia.

‘One reason why she had developed hypothermia was because she had decided, herself, that she doesn’t want to put her heating on.

‘She has clearly become fixated on the worry of putting her heating on, no matter what anyone was saying to her.’

Ms Bolton’s family agreed during the hearing at Rochdale Coroners Court that she could often be ‘proud’ and preferred to make her own decisions about her welfare.

Leading up to her death, the pensioner, who grew up in the Bury area of Greater Manchester, had been regularly visited by her family, who lived nearby.

But although they had told her not to be concerned with rising costs of energy, her son Mark Bolton worried she was turning off her heating when she was alone.

Tests later revealed she had vascular dementia, before she passed away on January 5 this year. Her primary cause of death was listed as recurrent pneumonia

Ms Kearsley, reading a statement from him, said: ‘She wouldn’t put the heating on in the house.

‘But she had been told by her family, particularly in respect of the time, not to worry about that. You brought your mum mobile heaters for her house.

‘If you called to see her, they would be turned on. But you don’t know if they were turned on when you left.

‘Leading up to her death, she was eating and drinking. Quite often she would come round for tea.

‘On December 11, 22, you constantly tried to ring her but couldn’t get through.

READ MORE: Families will pay an extra £500 on annual energy bills despite Ofgem reducing price cap by nearly £1,000 – as campaigners warn number of households who cannot afford payments will double

‘You thought that her phone was out of battery. When your son went to the house, he saw the lights on. He thought everything was okay.

‘Your son Nathan used a key to get into the house. He found Barbara sitting at the kitchen table unable to speak.’

Ms Kearsley read from a statement prepared by Dr Ansari, a consultant physician who treated Barbara after she was brought to Fairfield Hospital in Bury.

He said that she was suffering from ‘profound hypothermia’ when she arrived at the infirmary in an ambulance and had a temperature of just 28.9c.

Dr Ansari said usually those with these medical characteristics had an ‘extremely poor’ prognosis, but medics still attempted to treat her over the next four weeks.

During her time in the hospital, Dr Ansari also said her family had told physicians that Barbara had ‘deliberately’ turned her heating off before she had become unwell.

Ms Kearsley, reading Dr Ansari’s statement, said: ‘She had deliberately not turned her heating on for fear of high energy bills, despite family concerns.

‘This admission was probably an avoidable admission – if Barbara had agreed to keep her heating on.

‘But because she was very obstinate and was also a self-sufficient proud woman, she would not really accept help, even from her family. ‘

Ms Bolton, who was worried that she was becoming ‘confused’ in the lead-up to her death, was later found to have vascular dementia following scans.

She was pronounced dead at 6.15 pm on January 5 this year, with her son and grandson at her bedside.

Her main cause of death was listed as recurrent pneumonia.

Ms Kearsley said Ms Bolton’s family cared deeply for her, and although it had been her decision to turn her heating off, she hadn’t intended to end her own life.

She said: ‘Barbara was a very close part of your family and was cared for very well by all of you. But she was a very proud lady, and very stubborn, I suspect.

‘For some reason, it became entrenched in her view that she couldn’t put her heating on at that time for whatever reason. Only your mum will know if she was worrying about it.

‘No matter what anyone was telling her, she wasn’t going to do anything any differently.’

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