Telford pensioner died after six-hour wait in Shrewsbury hospital corridor

Jeffrey Passmore, 79, died on a busy night at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital on April 24 after being admitted with pains in his stomach, which turned out to be an abdominal aortic aneurysm.

His condition did not appear serious to nurses, so other patients were prioritised. But after a CT scan his condition deteriorated quickly and he died.

An expert said that had Mr Passmore, a retired printer, been assessed and operated on before his cardiac arrest, he would have had a 60-70 per cent chance of survival. But after his heart episode, Mr Passmore, from Stirchley, only stood a chance of between zero and five per cent.

At an inquest at Shirehall, senior coroner for Shropshire John Ellery read out a statement from Subramanian Kumaran, clinical director of emergency and acute medicine from Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals Trust.

It said: "The delay was not acceptable. However with the increased demand and the severity of the conditions of other patients, we did not have the capacity to deal with demands most of the night. The trust accepts that, and we are working hard to improve this.

"Patients have regular observations from nurses, and Mr Passmore remained stable. He had regular checks from the nursing team. His condition was discovered after a CT scan."

A statement was also read from Furruqh Shabbir, a heart specialist from the trust. In it, he said: "In my opinion, if he would have been diagnosed before arrest, the outcome could have been different.

"It was a very busy night at the hospital. he was monitored and observed for several hours. During his time he was talking and remained stable. There was no indication that he had a life-threatening condition."

He also said a message had been sent to staff to notify them that abdominal pain radiating to the back in older patients could be an abdominal aortic aneurysm, and gave guidelines. But the message may not have reached all the relevant staff members.

Mr Ellery added: "They admit there was an unacceptable delay and it is a possibility that it caused or contributed to his death."

Margaret Gooding, Mr Passmore's sister-in-law, said: "We know it is very difficult for the hospital and it is hard it is for them, but we just don't want this to happen to anybody else."

Mr Ellery responded: "That is very understanding of you. I don't wish to say anything about it but the A&E situation in Shropshire is very much a current topic.

He recorded a verdict of natural causes.