A young woman battling depression and anxiety died after accidentally overdosing on sleeping medication, an inquest heard.
Chloe Caton, 21, died in her sleep while lying on a mattress at the foot of her mother’s bed in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, on June 1.
She was a vape smoker
The dental receptionist had been staying with her mother Ami and her mother’s two grandchildren away from her usual home in nearby Kidsgrove.
An inquest held a week ago at Stoke Town Hall heard that Ms Caton had struggled with her mental health towards the end of her life.
In a statement, her mother said: ‘She was an ex-smoker and a vape smoker. She was suffering from a bad cough in the week before her death.
‘She had mentioned heart flutters but didn’t get to tell her GP. She was blue and cold when I woke up.
‘My grandchildren’s mother called emergency services.’
Ms Caton was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.
Post-mortem toxicology reports
A post-mortem toxicology found she had four drugs in her system – pregabalin, tapentadol, diazepam and zopiclone – only the latter two of which had been prescribed.
Ms Caton’s GP stated that she was struggling to sleep and was worried about losing her job due to lack of sleep.
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As a result, she was prescribed zopiclone and diazepam.
She had also been referred to local mental health team after previously saying she had transient suicidal thoughts.
Her GP, Dr Hannah Bradshaw, stated: ‘As a practice we’re deeply saddened to hear about her passing.’
The inquest heard Ms Caton was not prescribed two of the medications in her system.
Her post-mortem gave her cause of death as zopaclone toxicity, with the other medications as contributory factors.
Concluding the inquest, North Staffordshire assistant coroner Daniel Howe said: ‘The cause of death was zopiclone toxicity.’
