Brothers' sadness at Bournemouth professor's anorexia death » Health » 24dash.com

The brothers of a leading academic today spoke of their shock and sadness at the death of their sister who died of anorexia weighing only 30kg (4st 10lb).

Professor Rosemary Pope, who was pro-vice-chancellor at Bournemouth University, was found dead at her home in Sandy Mead Road, Bournemouth, Dorset, on Good Friday by her brother Christopher and his son.

The 49-year-old, who was 4ft 10ins, had suffered from the eating disorder since she was a teenager, an inquest into her death heard today.

The hearing was told that Prof Pope, who was single, would never eat anything more than fruit and sweets in public and had lost 10kg between her death and when she last visited a doctor in July last year.

East Dorset Coroner Sheriff Payne recorded a verdict of death by natural causes with anorexia nervosa as the cause of death.

He said: "The cause of death was contributed to by her self-neglect, her gross failure to provide herself with care that is a part of life."

Speaking after the Bournemouth inquest, her brother Michael, a solicitor from Sidcup, Kent, said: "Christopher and I are devastated by Rosemary's death.

"Although she had suffered from an eating disorder intermittently for some years, she was an incredibly energetic, enthusiastic and capable person carrying on work at the highest level.

"We find it hard to understand how she was able to carry on at all times without any interference or disruption to her life and work despite her low levels of nutrition.

"She was one of the most irrepressible and determined people you could meet.

"We were very aware about her eating disorder and although we raised the subject with her from time to time, it was clear to us it could damage our relationship with her and could be detrimental to her if we pushed too hard.

"She was unable to hear what we had to say and we find this distressing.

"Rosemary was an understanding, generous and loving sister and affectionate aunt and she will be greatly missed."

Michael Pope told the inquest that his sister had recently behaved strangely towards food including taking her own food when visiting family members and staying at hotels.

He also described an incident last Christmas when she seemed uncomfortable around food when she had prepared a meal for her family.

He said: "She laid on a feast which we couldn't possibly eat and she left the room while we ate."

He described how she then returned when everybody had finished eating and threw the leftover food away in bin liners and placed them outside the house.

He said: "It was only then that she appeared to relax."

Mr Pope added that his sister only appeared to eat processed food such as cheese, yoghurt, soft drinks and diet sweets.

He also said that his sister, who was very close to her mother who is now in a care home in Dorking, Surrey, appeared to have hoarded tin food in her home as well as food-related magazines.

David Willey, deputy vice-chancellor at Bournemouth University, said that he saw Prof Pope on a daily basis and he had never seen her eat more than fruit or sweets.

He said during meetings of the university's executive she would not eat the sandwiches provided.

He added: "She would suck sweets but would eat no food of any substance.

"She would bring her own sandwiches on a plate under a napkin but I do not recall her ever having touched them."

He said that Rosemary did appear fragile but added: "Rosemary always showed great emotional and physical energy. Her death was unexpected and a great shock to me."

He said that Prof Pope would not attend social events and said he had wondered whether this was because she did not have a partner or because she was avoiding eating a meal with others.

He added: "Rosemary rarely spoke about her life outside the university; I am not aware of any social life she may have had.

"Rosemary's life did appear to revolve around the university."

Mr Willey said that Prof Pope was under pressure at work as the university was preparing major changes ahead of an educational audit next autumn.

He said: "Her role at the university was demanding. She was responsible for making some major changes to how the university was structured."

Michael Riordan, director of human resources at Bournemouth University, said that Prof Pope had appeared to have lost weight when she fell ill with the norovirus vomiting bug in January this year.

He said: "I urged her to see her GP but she said there was nothing he could do and the best course was to let it run its own course.

"Rosemary never looked that well, she did look very thin but any concerns I had were about her workload and her tendency to worry about work issues."

The inquest heard that when Prof Pope was in her previous employment at the University of Surrey she was advised that she needed to put on weight.

In November 2004, she attended a BUPA wellness clinic and was weighed at 30.2kg. She weighed 42kg in July 2006 when she registered with a doctor in Bournemouth and weighed 30kg at her death.

Coroner's officer Neil Murdoch said that Prof Pope was found collapsed in a kneeling position next to a sofa in the lounge of her home with a pot of creme fraiche in her hand and a cup of coffee on a table nearby.

Consultant pathologist Denis Madders said that Prof Pope had died of malnutrition.

He said that her death in anorexia cases was most likely to have been caused by hypoglycaemia - extremely low blood sugar levels - or electrolyte deficiency leading to abnormal chemical levels in her bloodstream.

He said that the malnutrition had led to her having the heart of a teenager which weighed only 140g when the smallest it should weigh for a woman of her height being 200g.

He also said her liver was worn away and would be what you would expect an elderly woman to have.