--- title: "Woman Puzzled When Hospital Tells Her She’s Dead" description: "In England, a woman was told repeatedly by healthcare providers that she was dead — even though she was, obviously, very much alive." date: "2024-05-02" modified: "2024-05-02" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/hospital-tells-woman-shes-dead" categories: - "Developments" - "Health & Medicine" tags: - "death" - "medical" - "nhs" - "United Kingdom" --- # Woman Puzzled When Hospital Tells Her She’s Dead ![In England, a woman was told repeatedly by healthcare providers that she was dead — even though she was, obviously, very much alive.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* In England, a woman was told repeatedly by healthcare providers that she was dead — even though she was, obviously, very much alive. As the [*BBC* reports](), Susan Johnson of Scarborough was perplexed upon being told by multiple institutions that per their records, she was deceased and couldn't access her government benefits. The morbid mixup began in March 2023, when Johnson — a caretaker for her disabled husband — went to a routine appointment at nearby Bridlington Hospital. "I gave them my letter and their first words were, 'ooh you're dead,'" the 62-year-old woman said. "I said, 'pardon?' I was in shock," Johnson continued, per the *BBC*. "Then they put something on the computer so I could have the scan and then they just said, 'bye' and that's it." The retired housekeeper said that after that interaction she was "shaking like a leaf" — but it only got worse from there. After contacting her general practitioner, Johnson was told that the issue had been fixed — but when she got in touch with the UK's Department for Work and Pensions, an apparently-bemused agent informed her that "on the computer, you're dead" "I said, 'I'm not, I'm still talking to you,'" the woman recounted to the British broadcaster. "I shut down completely," she added. "I didn't talk or anything, I was in my own little bubble." In the aftermath of the maddening mixup, Johnson's benefits were reinstated, but the confusion continued when the *BBC* began trying to piece together what exactly had happened. Scarborough Medical Group, the woman's GP, said in a statement that it had received electronic instructions from the support service Primary Care Support England to remove her from their records — but when the news wire contacted PCSE, it said that it had nothing to do with the erroneous death declaration. As a PCSE spokesperson told the *BBC*, the service's only involvement was an automated email to Scarborough Medical Group that was sent *after* the issue had been resolved. Meanwhile, neither the kingdom's National Health Services nor the Department for Work and Pensions have been able to figure out who's responsible either, leaving Johnson in the lurch as she tried to move on with her life and get closure from the ordeal. "I need to find out why it happened, how and by whom," she told the *BBC*. "And that person, whoever has pressed a button, shouldn't be working wherever they are." **More on not-deaths**: [*Mom Stunned to Get Text Message From Son After He Died at the Hospital*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()