"She just couldn’t seem to get better” - tragedy as Sheffield woman dies after cocktail of drugs
An inquest revealed how a Sheffield woman died from drug toxicity
A woman with a history of substance abuse died shortly after being taken to hospital with breathing difficulties and “blue lips”.
Georgina Grainger, from Sheffield, was 53 when she died at the Northern General hospital on October 14, 2025, an inquest heard.
The hearing too place at Sheffield’s Medico Legal Centre this week and was attended by her daughter, Christina.
Coroner Fiona Morrison said: “On 13 October 2025, Georgina was taken to the Northern General having been found outside her flat pale, with shortness of breath and blue lips.”
She arrived at 7.14pm, and during medical assessments, she told doctors that she had been feeling unwell the previous night.
At 11.50pm, Georgina stopped breathing and doctors began to perform CPR, she remained in cardiac arrest until she was pronounced dead a couple of hours later.
Georgina was previously diagnosed with COPD, which is a disease that can block airflow and make breathing difficult.
On top of this, she was known to have a “history of excess alcohol and drug addiction”.
The post mortem revealed a number of prescribed drugs in her system, including methadone, pregabalin and codeine.
She had also taken cocaine.
The coroner read out a statement from pathologist, Dr Philip Lumb, which read: “The cocaine present can act unexpectedly when taken with other drugs. The codeine can also cause sedative problems when taken with other drugs.”
Because of her history with alcohol, her liver was “severely damaged,” the inquqest heard,
The medical cause of death was determined as drug toxicity and cirrhosis of the liver.
Georgina had been receiving support prior to her death from ‘Likewise’ - a drug and alcohol support service in Sheffield.
Ms Morrison read out a statement from a doctor at Likewise, which said: “She had a long history of alcohol use and a history of intermittent crack cocaine use.”
The inquest heard Georgina also “struggled with her mobility” because she had arthritis and “struggled to manage at home”.
The statement from the doctor added: “Her daughter was the only support she had, she called every night to help her take her meds and prepared her meals.”
Daughter, Christina, said: “She just couldn’t seem to get better.”
In July of 2025, she was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and was prescribed medication for this.
Ms Morrison explained how all of the drugs in her system leading up to her death, had “a layering effect”.
Because of these factors, her conclusion was that Georgina’s death was “drug related”, and accepted the medical cause of “drug toxicity and cirrhosis of the liver”.
Speaking to daughter, Christina, Ms Morrison said: “You obviously loved and supported your mum as much as you could.”