Coroner's fury as great-grandfather, 86, dies after being dumped on NHS emergency trolley for 19 hours TWICE

Oh no! NOT a Royal Marine. How disgusting. The neglect below should not happen to anybody but Royal Marines are heroic men who should be treated with special honour

A Normandy veteran died after being abandoned on a hospital trolley for 19 hours - on two separate occasions. Walter Gibson, 86, suffered an agonising death from infected bedsores caused by his ordeal. Yesterday a coroner condemned the 'gross failings' and 'neglect' that contributed to the great-grandfather's death.

Mr Gibson, who had Parkinson's disease, was admitted to Queen's Hospital in Romford, Essex, in December 2007 with a chest infection. But the flagship £200million, three-year-old hospital did not have enough beds to accommodate him, an inquest heard. Instead Mr Gibson was left on an A&E trolley - designed to be used for up to 12 hours - for 19 hours. By the time he returned to his care home after treatment Mr Gibson had developed painful bedsores.

Days later, on New Year's Day 2008, he was admitted to the hospital again with pneumonia. Astonishingly, he was forced to endure another agonising 19 hours on a trolley as he waited for a bed. When Mr Gibson was finally seen by locum consultant physician Dr O A Elegbe, it was clear the bedsores - also called pressure sores - had become far more severe and were infected. One of the sores had developed into a 'grade four' ulcer - deep enough to expose tendon and bone. The wounds were dressed, but it was another 12 hours before he was moved to a ward where he could be placed on a pressure-relieving mattress.

By then, however, it was too late. Mr Gibson died on January 12 of septicaemia as a result of the open bedsores. Bronchial pneumonia was also found to be a contributing factor in his death. Yesterday coroner Dr Fiona Wilcox passed a verdict of death by natural causes, contributed to by neglect.

Dr Wilcox told Walthamstow Coroner's Court in East London: 'It is quite clear from the evidence I've heard that the length of time Mr Gibson waited at A&E both the first and second time - the second time added insult to injury to a man already completely dependent - made a significant contribution to his death.' She added: 'He was at very, very high risk of pressure sores and he should have been provided with appropriate protection against worsening of the pressure sores.'

Mr Gibson's wife Pheobe, 82, lives in a care home in Dagenham. The couple had three daughters, six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Mr Gibson served as a Royal Marine during the Second World War and was involved in the D-Day landings.

Two of his daughters, Jacqueline With and Kay Newton, and his granddaughter Vicky Newton were in court to hear the coroner's criticisms of the hospital. Mrs With, 62, said after the inquest: 'We were angry and upset when we found out that the bedsores were a factor in his death, they had got infected and he got septicaemia. 'If he hadn't had to wait so long on the trolley he wouldn't have got the bedsores and may have survived longer.' She added: 'I know hospital A&E is a busy place but I feel the elderly should be fast-tracked through. 'It's a hard task for the doctors and nurses trying to treat people but something needs to be done. More money needs to be put into emergency care or there should be a specialist unit for the elderly.'

The coroner urged Queen's Hospital to increase training for nurses, step up risk assessment of patients likely to develop pressure sores and provide more air mattresses.

Mrs With, of South Ockendon, Essex, said: 'I genuinely hope the recommendations go through so that no one else has to suffer the terrible way my poor dad did.' The Daily Mail's Dignity For The Elderly campaign has highlighted how vulnerable older patients are sometimes not given the care they deserve in hospital.

A spokesman for Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals Trust, which runs Queen's Hospital, said: 'Our sympathies are with Mr Gibson's family at this difficult time. 'Over the past year, the trust, in partnership with the primary care trusts, has reviewed and streamlined the processes for patients attending A&E to ensure that they can be admitted and cared for in the right setting to meet individual needs. 'A list of recommended actions from the coroner will be submitted to the trust for implementation and response. 'The trust takes very seriously what lessons can be learnt in order to prevent a similar occurrence in the future.' [Bullsh*t, Bullsh*t, Bullsh*t]

SOURCE




Australia: Rapist Indian doctor still allowed to practice in Victoria!

It is acknowledged that he has a mental illness so who knows what else he may do? Is Australia so short of doctors that the government has to take a risk on this guy?

VICTORIAN Health Minister Daniel Andrews is examining the case of rapist doctor Sabi Lal after he was permitted to continue practising. But Mr Andrews won't say if he has the power to overturn the decision.

Dr Lal retained his registration after the Court of Appeal upheld a ruling by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) allowing him to treat patients. The doctor was refused registration by the Medical Practitioners' Board because of prior sexual assault convictions and appealed to VCAT.

VCAT granted Dr Lal registration on the condition he see only male patients aged over 16. The tribunal ruled that he had a low moral culpability because an obsessive compulsive disorder contributed to his offending.

"This is a complex matter, it's a serious matter, I'm getting advice from my department in relation to the ruling of the Court of Appeal," Mr Andrews said today. He said he was yet to read the judgment but would take "action appropriately" once he had been briefed. Mr Andrews said he planned to meet with the head of the Medical Practitioners Board, Dr Bob Adler.

"I believe that the vast majority of medical practitioners...across our Victorian community do a fantastic job, have the best interests of their patients at heart and act in a totally appropriate way. "There is a system for those that do not."

SOURCE