'Beloved' Nottinghamshire Police officer died after insulin overdose

Ashleigh Metcalf was found collapsed at her home in Ruddington

A "bubbly and beloved" Nottinghamshire police officer who had diabetes died after giving herself too much insulin. Ashleigh Metcalf was found collapsed at her home in Rumsby Place, Ruddington on the morning of September 10 last year.

An inquest into the 28-year-old police constable's death found she had given herself a boost of insulin using a pen device when it was not required, causing her her blood sugar levels to drop resulting in prolonged severe hypoglycemia. However, a coroner said she could not determine why she delivered the insulin.

"She may have felt unwell, or was confused at this time," said assistant coroner Elizabeth Didcock, who led the inquest on Friday, September 27. She said there was no evidence to support the fact it was a deliberate overdose.

Chief Constable Kate Meynell said Ms Metcalf was known for her "bubbly and infectious nature". Paying tribute, she said: "She was a beloved colleague and friend to many within the force.

"Her unexpected death was a profound loss not only for those who knew and loved her but also for the broader community that had lost an exceptional and respected police officer. Our thoughts and heartfelt sympathy are with Ashleigh’s family at this time.”

Ms Metcalf, who had type 1 diabetes, used an Omni-pod device to provide micro-boluses of insulin to keep control of blood sugar levels. She began using the device on August 30 last year and there was evidence it was working well, Ms Didcock said.

Downloads from the device showed that Ms Metcalf programmed the device at 10.54pm to give her a short-acting dose of insulin as a correction, despite her blood glucose level being at a normal 4 mmol/L.

Half-an-hour later, the device downloads showed a "sudden and dramatic drop" in blood glucose level, which persisted overnight. "This is not caused by a pump or device malfunction, nor by alcohol consumption, but is likely to be caused by additional fast acting insulin given by Ashleigh using a pen device," said Ms Didcock.

Ms Metcalf was found collapsed at her home the next morning with a very low level of 2mmol/L and did not respond to all attempts to resuscitate her.