A WOMAN suffering from chronic pain was found unresponsive in her home after signing a ‘do not resuscitate’ form with her doctor, an inquest heard.

Donna Michelle Bennett, 46, was pronounced dead at the scene after being discovered by her elderly carer and friend.

An inquest held at Bournemouth Town Hall on November 21 heard that Donna had been suffering from chronic back pain since 2010 and took various medication to deal with the pain.

She told her GP, Dr Tracey Wall, at the end of 2022 that she was also concerned about her breathing and was suffering from breathlessness and wheeziness.

At their last appointment on February 22, 2023, Donna told Dr Wall that she wished to sign a ‘do not resuscitate’ (DNR) form so that she could ‘die in dignity and with a smile on her face’.

On April 22, 2023, an ambulance was called to Donna’s home on Oakfield Street, Blandford Forum after her friend and carer, John Tuck, found her unresponsive.

Mr Tuck, 75, told Bournemouth Coroner’s Court in a statement that he was living with Donna in her home and on April 22 she asked him to collect her prescriptions.

He recalled finding this strange because she usually collected her prescription on a different day, but gave no reason to him why she wanted them early.

In the evening, Mr Tuck went to check on Donna in her bedroom and found her bedroom door closed, which was unusual for her.

He found her unresponsive and called 999 for an ambulance but at 9.12pm Donna was confirmed deceased at the scene.

Police officers discovered Donna’s DNR form on her bed along with a note.

A toxicology report conducted by Rob Moore found that prescription medication was discovered in Donna’s system that exceeded the therapeutic level.

A postmortem by Dr Juliane Stolte concluded that Donna died from multi-organ failure as a result of mixed drug intoxication.

Assistant coroner for Dorset, Richard Middleton, said Donna had a history of taking prescribed medication and would have been familiar with using them.

He said Donna died from a deliberate act of suicide and offered his deepest condolences to her friends and family.

Anyone can contact Samaritans free 24/7. Call 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org or visit samaritans.org for more information.