London -
A nurse lay dead in her flat for seven years until her mummified body was found by bailiffs called in because her mortgage was not being paid.
Anne Leitrim, 58, had been facing disciplinary action at work at the time that she is believed to have died in 2007.
On Sunday night, the inquest into Miss Leitrim’s death prompted TV campaigner Esther Rantzen to urge people to check on their neighbours over Christmas.
She said: “We’re different today in the sense that we’re concerned about people’s privacy and we don’t want to intrude.”
Miss Rantzen, who founded The Silver Line, a helpline for isolated older people, said of Miss Leitrim’s case: “There are a lot of people who should be asking themselves questions.
“At Christmas we don’t want that on our conscience. It’s the perfect time to go round with a Christmas card and a mince pie and make sure that whoever it is – an elderly person or a single mum – bang on the door and wish them a happy Christmas.”
At an inquest in Bournemouth, coroner Sheriff Payne heard how Miss Leitrim’s body was found at her flat in Muscliff, Bournemouth, on June 24 this year.
Police who examined the scene found a calendar on the wall dated June 2007, along with a TV guide for the week of June 16 and a huge pile of post.
A garbled note was found, stating: “My doctors has done anything wrong. I love my babies. Goodbye Janet.” A post mortem examination did not find a cause of death because of her “state of advanced mummification”.
The inquest on Friday heard that Glasgow-born Miss Leitrim had trained as a nurse, working in Glasgow, Barnet in North London and St Thomas’s Hospital in South London.
Miss Leitrim, who bought her flat in the Seventies and continued to work in London, living there while she was on duty, lost contact with her family 20 years ago. Her GP last saw her on June 11, 2007, and reported that she had a high level of anxiety.
Homerton University Hospital in East London, where Miss Leitrim worked as a neonatal nurse, revealed she had faced allegations of inappropriate conduct towards a child in her care.
Although she had been given a final written warning, plans had been put in place for her to return to work.
Mr Payne said she appeared to have lived a solitary life, adding: “She had no social life down here. People didn’t know who she was to any great extent.”
Referring to the message left in her flat, he said: “The note is vague. It could be treated as a suicide note. But there’s no physical evidence at the scene to indicate that she’s taken her life.”
As a result, he said he had no alternative but to record an open verdict.
David Leighton, of Age UK in Bournemouth, said: “People should keep an eye on their neighbours and make sure that they’ve got what they need.
“Do take notice and think about whether you’ve seen people for a few days.” - Daily Mail