Exposure to asbestos cause of death for former St Sampson's head

Monday 17 September 2018

Guernsey's court has heard exposure to asbestos was the cause of death for a headteacher at the former St Sampson's Secondary School.

The inquest into the death of Maureen Pitman, 78, concluded in court on Friday, where the official post mortem was accepted.

It found Mrs Pitman, who was born in Guernsey, died because of bronchopneumonia, advanced mesothelioma and asbestos exposure.

Mrs Pitman was exposed to asbestos for a week in the summer of 1985, when the school she was working at, Herne Bay Secondary in the UK, began to replace its ceiling tiles.

The work was carried out over the summer holidays, and students and staff were advised not to enter the school for their own safety. 

But Mrs Pitman recalled having loose ends to tie up from the previous school year, and went into the school every day for the first week of the holidays. The court heard when the work was being done, there was no plastic sheeting used to divide up the school, and that Mrs Pitman had said she remembered clearing dust off her desk every morning.

Pictured: Mrs Pitman was working in Herne Bay, Kent, when she was exposed to asbestos. 

Later in 1985, Mrs Pitman moved back to Guernsey to take up a role as the Deputy Head of St Peter Port Secondary School. Then, in 1988, she was given her job at St Sampson's. 

Problems first arose for the former head 31 years later however, when she was visiting her daughter in London in 2016. Mrs Pitman developed chest pains and a cough, and after visiting a GP, it was confirmed she was suffering with mesothelioma, one of the symptoms of asbestos exposure. 

A report was carried out and it was indicated that the mesothelioma was already widespread, and progressed from T3 to T4 with a fatal outcome.

Mrs Pitman passed away at her home in Guernsey on the 10 July this year.

Pictured: File image of a roof with exposed asbestos.