Mum mourns son’s anxiety-filled ‘last morning on Earth’

By Robert Firth, Local Democracy Reporter

A student who died from a seizure ‘wasted his last morning on Earth’ begging a South London pharmacy for anti-epilepsy medication it failed to tell him it didn’t have in stock, his mother has claimed.

Henrietta Hastings told an inquest at Inner South London Coroner’s Court that her son Charlie Marriage became stressed and anxious during the three hours he spent with her at a Superdrug in Camberwell on a Saturday in June 2021 trying to get anti-epilepsy drugs.

The Brunel University student, 32, died in the early hours of the following day from ‘Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy’ (SUDEP) during a seizure, while alone at his flat in Camberwell.

He had managed to find a dose of Fycompa – an anti-epilepsy drug – at his girlfriend’s house later on the Saturday, but the medication was out of date and he took a lower dose than he was usually on.

Ms Hastings told the inquest on Monday: “Charlie spent the last morning of his life begging for medication from someone [the pharmacist] who was not honest with us. If he had been honest with us, we could have gone somewhere else and got medication.

“We could have avoided that build-up of stress and anxiety that was a massive trigger to Charlie. It was not an enjoyable morning. That morning was responsible for causing a lot of stress and anxiety to Charlie and I think he wasted his last morning on Earth and that’s pretty bad.”

Ms Hastings said that she and Charlie only became aware the pharmacist didn’t have Fycompa in stock when they overheard him relay the fact to a phone operator at NHS 111 – the NHS’s urgent telephone healthcare service. She later found out the pharmacist wasn’t even able to open a computer system to access a referral for Charlie’s anti-epilepsy medication from NHS 111.

Ms Hastings said: “We had no idea he [the pharmacist] couldn’t open the system. What he kept telling us was they weren’t sending them [the referral] through. It’s one of the worst things about the whole case for us as a family.”

On hearing that the pharmacist they saw on that last morning planned to not attend the inquest in person because he is based in Wales, and would give evidence via video link, Ms Hastings shouted: “What’s the matter with him? It just makes me really cross. He ruined Charlie’s last half day of his life. He can’t even get on a train.”

The inquest heard how Mr Marriage had spent two days trying to get his anti-epilepsy medication before he died on June 27, 2021.

He had received a message from NHS Test and Trace on the Thursday before his death telling him to self-isolate due to possibly coming into contact with Covid-19. Realising he would be without anti-epilepsy medication for the weekend, Mr Hastings rang his GP Waterloo Health Centre on the Friday, in an attempt to get an emergency supply of medication to cover him for the weekend.

Ms Hastings told the hearing her son first rang the GP at around 10am on Friday, where she said he claimed to have spoken to a receptionist called Mr Vargus. She said he then called the surgery back at midday and then again a few minutes after midday because he had been cut off.

Ms Hastings said Charlie was told during his third call that he would get a call back before 4pm but never received one. He then rang the surgery a final time just after 4pm, where he was told to submit a prescription request online— which would have only been dealt with the next working day, which was the following Monday.

Mr Vargus, who has since left the surgery, told the inquest he only remembered speaking to Charlie during the 4pm call.

Clare Gooch, a solicitor from Switalskis which is representing Charlie’s family: said: “This has been an extremely difficult and distressing time for Charlie’s family, who are still coming to terms with their loss. They hope that the inquest will provide greater insight into the events leading up to Charlie’s death.”

The inquest, which is being presided over by coroner Xavier Mooyaart, continues. It is due to finish on Friday.

Pictured top: Charlie Marriage (Picture: LDRS/ https://www.instagram.com/charliemarriage/)