Jury rules Shrewsbury pensioner's death was an accident
The death of a pensioner from Shrewsbury from bronchial pneumonia was not caused by a fall while being cared for in hospital, an inquest jury has ruled.
Retired tool fitter Gerald Morris died as a result of an accident, according to the jury. Members of the panel unanimously ruled his death was unlikely to have been affected by a fall he suffered at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital on October 12 last year, a week after he had been admitted following a fall in his home in which he suffered a cut to the head.
Mr Morris, 72, of Chatford Drive, Meole Brace, died at the hospital on November 18 last year.
An inquest to see if his death could have been prevented was opened after it was revealed handover notes to ward 23N staff failed to state Mr Morris suffered from postural hypotension – a condition which involves feeling dizzy or unsteady when standing up quickly, making a person more likely to collapse.
Mr Morris received treatment on the acute medical unit before being transferred to ward 23N. While on that ward he fell while walking from his bed to the bathroom.
Two days after the fall in hospital Mr Morris, who also suffered from high blood pressure, began complaining of pains in his left thigh with a subsequent X-ray confirming he had fractured a bone.
He then contracted bronchial pneumonia as a result of being immobilised following three operations to fix the fractured thighbone.
John Blackwell, a surgical registrar in the trauma and orthopaedics unit at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, examined Mr Morris's fracture.
He said it was possible Mr Morris was admitted to hospital with an undisplaced fracture and that it may or may not have worsened following the fall on October 12.
But Mr Blackwell said a separate movement, between October 12 and when Mr Morris started complaining of pain on October 14, could have then completed the break.
A post-mortem examination conducted by Dr Kenneth Scott confirmed Mr Morris died from bronchial pneumonia as a result of being immobilised following three operations to fix the fractured thighbone.
Ward 23N manager Nick Berny said since Mr Morris's death improvements to the hospital handover system have been introduced. He said: "During a handover the nurse must now pass on any observations and any issues with mobility, nutrition or the patients communication so nothing should be missed."
The jury unanimously agreed a verdict of accidental death at the inquest in Wem yesterday. They said Mr Morris's thighbone injuries were sustained at home on October 5 and in the hospital on October 14.
They concluded the fall on October 12 could have been prevented but was not significant in the death.
Coroner John Ellery said he would not be making any further recommendations to hospital handover policy following the changes already implemented.
