A WINCHESTER woman suffering from terminal cancer died in hospital after a fall near the entrance.

Sheila Marie Barter was receiving palliative care for lymphoma and was arriving at Southampton General Hospital when she stumbled.

An eye witness said she did not put her hands out to break her fall and fell on her face. The witness said Mrs Barter appeared to trip over her feet.

Mrs Barter, florist, of Priors Dean Road, Harestock, received immediate care but died the following day, October 15, of a subarachnoid haemorrhage, a serious brain injury .

Dr Robert Lown, consultant haematologist, in a statement read to the hearing, said doctors felt surgery would be of little benefit as Mrs Barter was thought to only have a few weeks to live.

Mrs Barter, 59, owner of Marie's Florist on Southgate Street, had been diagnosed with lymphoma in 2016.

Her husband Barry Toner told the inquest that the final fall had been a surprise.

"She had had a fall in hospital before but recovered and was later cutting the grass and doing all sorts of things. We though perhaps things are turning around.

"I was quite stunned by this (the fall) happening. I could have believed it the year before, but not then. We thought she had got through it."

The night before the fall Mr Toner said his wife had been well enough to spend several hours doing a tax return and VAT receipts.

She passed away with her husband and daughter at her bedside.

Senior coroner Chris Wilkinson returned a verdict of accidental death