A hearing at Norfolk Coroner's Court was told that Lauren Stolworthy used the paracetamol tablets she was sent home from the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital with to take a further overdose which proved fatal because she was already suffering with severe alcohol-related liver disease.

Ms Stolworthy, 41, of Supple Close, Heartsease, was described as a "caring and dedicated school worker who built strong relationships with children and parents" during nearly two decades in the classroom.

Norfolk coroner Yvonne Blake heard that Ms Stolworthy had struggled with longstanding anxiety, depression and alcohol misuse in the years before her death at the James Paget University Hospital on August 21 last year.

Devoted teaching assistant Lauren Stolworthy (Image: facebook)

Medical evidence concluded she died from acute liver failure due to alcohol-related liver disease, contributed to by paracetamol overdose.

The inquest was told Ms Stolworthy had been admitted to the Norfolk and Norwich University on July 29 after taking paracetamol tablets alongside alcohol. She received treatment and her blood results improved before she was discharged on August 6.

However, the circumstances surrounding her discharge were raised during the hearing.

Mrs Blake said she had concerns after hearing Ms Stolworthy had been sent home with a further supply of the same medication she had used to overdose.

“She had gone in with a paracetamol overdose and was then sent home with paracetamol,” the coroner said.

“I think that was a bit odd, I have to say.”

Ms Stolworthy's brother, Michael Stolworthy, who was present at the hearing, agreed agreed that it seemed a poor choice, but acknowledged that his sister would have easily been able to obtain more tablets had she not been given them.

Lauren Stolworthy had been discharged from the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital with paracetamol despite having been admitted for an overdose. (Image: Newsquest)

Consultant gastroenterologist Dr Charelle Manning explained that by the time Ms Stolworthy was discharged from the Norfolk and Norwich on August 6, the drug would have been out of her system and her blood tests had shown she was stable following treatment.

But she told the court the overdose had still placed “additional strain and injury” on a liver that was already significantly damaged by cirrhosis caused by long-term alcohol use.

She was sent home with the paracetamol to manage continued pain in her abdomen, leg and hip.

The inquest was told Ms Stolworthy had been drinking heavily for around ten years, often consuming up to two bottles of wine a day as her mental health deteriorated, which had an impact on her ability to continue the job she loved at Recreation Road Infant School.

Her brother said the family had initially been unaware of the extent of her struggles.

“She was someone who kept herself to herself but she had good friends and always tried to meet up with family for birthdays and Christmas,” he said in a statement read to the court.

“Over the last few years I suspected she had started drinking more because she would leave family events early and seemed distant or had the shakes.”

He said she later confided she had been self-harming and taking overdoses as “a way of escaping from her problems for a short period of time”.

“She had given up. Her house was a mess and she was not looking after herself,” he said.

“I kept checking in on her and encouraging her to get out and do small things but she was not interested.

“I am concerned about what support and help she was offered. Was enough done to help her?”

The hearing was told Ms Stolworthy had multiple contacts with NHS 111 and mental health services throughout early 2025.

Call handlers recorded that she was often tearful, intoxicated and expressing thoughts of harming herself.

She also described feeling increasingly isolated after being signed off work with anxiety and depression, worrying about reduced income and struggling to afford travel to appointments.

Mental health practitioner Spencer Hardy-King told the court she had been assessed and plans were made for trauma therapy, alcohol support and regular home contacts after she self-discharged from hospital on several occasions.

During a welfare visit in June, clinicians noted signs of self-neglect and poor sleep, alongside concerns about the risk of impulsive behaviour linked to alcohol use.

Mrs Blake said the evidence demonstrated how Ms Stolworthy had become trapped in a destructive pattern.

“She wanted help but you cannot engage in talking therapies under the influence of alcohol,” she said.

“She appears to have been caught in a vicious cycle.

"She had a job she loved but she couldn't carry on because she was unwell and of course could not work intoxicated.

The teaching assistant died at James Paget University Hospital (Image: Newsquest)

"She was drinking to self medicate but couldn't work and that caused further anxiety and depression."

Following her final admission to the James Paget on August 12, after overdosing again, Ms Stolworthy’s condition deteriorated rapidly.

She developed worsening liver failure, kidney failure and internal bleeding despite intensive care treatment.

Consultant Dr Karl Blenk said she was moved to intensive care where she required ventilation and high doses of medication to maintain her blood pressure but did not respond well.

“She was in multi-organ failure and her prognosis was very poor,” he told the court.

Recording a conclusion of drug- and alcohol-related death, Ms Blake said the cumulative impact of long-term drinking combined with repeated overdoses had ultimately proved fatal.

“Although she died from acute liver failure, this was really the result of the combined effects of alcohol misuse and repeated ingestion of medication which further damaged her liver,” she said.

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