A WOMAN from Rhyl died shortly after a fall at home, a full inquest in Ruthin heard today (January 31).

Maureen “Mo” Oliver, of Gamlin Street, died aged 80 in Glan Clwyd Hospital, Bodelwyddan during the morning of Saturday, September 10, 2022.

At roughly 6.30pm on September 6, Mrs Oliver got out of bed to go to the toilet, but suffered a fall on her way back.

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In a statement, her husband, Mike, said that she said: “My hip, my hip, get me an ambulance.”

Mr Oliver was unable to help her up or move her, and after paramedics transferred her to Glan Clwyd, she died four days later.

He added that Mrs Oliver had “been concerned about her health in the last year”, and had said she “just wanted to reach 80”.

Mr Oliver added: “She’s greatly missed by myself and all of her family.”

An only child who was born in Mostyn, Mrs Oliver had worked at Woolworths and at the Piazza restaurant in Rhyl before retirement.

She and husband had been neighbours and friends for many years before marrying in April 2003, in what was Mrs Oliver’s second marriage.

Mr Oliver added that she had suffered from a heart problem about two years prior to her death, as well as from anaemia, and used a wheelchair.

Inside, she was said to be able to walk around, but could be unsteady due to being “quite weak and frail”.

He added that she had told him she had suffered a “previous fall before we got together… she fell down the stairs, I believe.

“She had had a few bangs and bruises in the last few years, but not any serious injuries.”

Farhan Alvi, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Glan Clwyd, said Mrs Oliver was diagnosed with a hip fracture, which she then underwent surgery to fix on September 8.

She was said to have had a history of heart failure, hypertension, mitral valve regurtiation, abnormal heart rhythms, and chronic kidney disease.

Mrs Oliver then went into cardiorespiratory arrest on her ward on September 10, and became unresponsive at 10.40am.

Resuscitation initially resulted in a pulse, but she sadly died at 11.46am that day.

Dr Mark Atkinson, who undertook Mrs Oliver’s post-mortem, found that “no direct cause was evident” in explaining her death.

But, he added, the fall and subsequent fracture she sustained may have indirectly contributed to her death by increasing the physiological strain.

He found that she had had an enlarged heart, as well as signs of hardened arteries and congestive cardiac failure.

Concluding, John Gittins, senior coroner for North Wales East and Central, ruled Mrs Oliver’s death as accidental.

Her cause of death was ruled as heart failure due to valvular and ischemic heart disease, chronic kidney disease and bronchopneumonia.

The fall was found to have caused Mrs Oliver to fracture her neck and femur.

Mr Gittins added: “As we get older, we are less capable of coping with any trauma, and it doesn’t take any great trauma for an injury of that sort to occur.”

Addressing those in attendance at the inquest, he added: “You are here this afternoon because you no doubt miss her. My condolences on her loss to your all.”