By Mark Blunden
The Evening Standard
LONDON — A paramedic died after taking tablets she bought over the internet to help her sleep.
Lorna Lambden, 27, suffered a heart attack brought on by medication she took to cope with 12-hour shifts with the London Ambulance Service. Her body was discovered two days later by her boyfriend with an empty glass of wine by her side.
She is understood to have taken four or five tablets of Amitryptyline, an anti-depressant also sometimes used as a sleeping pill.
Today her family joined experts in warning of the dangers of buying medicines over the internet.
Miss Lambden’s mother, Sandra, a retired A&E sister, told the Standard: “Lorna worked long shifts, from early mornings to late nights. But she loved her job, working in Camden wearing a stab vest. She was especially proud when she delivered a baby on Christmas Day. Everybody loved Lorna, she would light up a room.”
She added: “It’s terrible that these drugs are so freely available online and it’s ludicrous that people can buy them without seeing any warnings about the harm they can do.” Miss Lambden’s sister, Amy, 29, an occupational therapist, added:"There should be greater regulation and people need to be educated about the dangers.”
Miss Lambden’s father, Roy, said she was studying for a masters degree had hoped to joined London’s Air Ambulance.
An inquest at Hertfordshire coroner’s court heard that when Ms Lambden’s family last spoke to her on 15 December she was in a “jolly mood”. They did not hear from her for the next two days but thought nothing of it as she would often be out of contact due to her shifts.
Miss Lambden’s family only realised something was wrong when her two sisters could not get in touch with her on the day of her grand-father’s funeral. Her body was found by her police officer boyfriend, William McDonald, with her favourite film, Breakfast At Tiffany’s, still playing in the background.
A search of the flat uncovered several blister packs of Amitryptyline, which she is thought to have purchased from a foreign website. Toxicology tests showed a fatal level in Miss Lambden’s blood.
Recording a verdict of accidental death, coroner Edward Thomas said there was no evidence she had taken a “large amount” or that she had committed suicide. He said: "(Amitriptyline) can stop the heart and I think that is likely here.”
Dr Laurence Buckman, chairman of the BMA’s GP committee, said: “You should always get your drugs on prescription from a GP or hospital specialist and go to a pharmacist, who will tell you about the side effects and correct dose.”
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