'Nil by mouth' patient was given oral medication three times before dying days later

The 78-year-old was admitted to Hull Royal Infirmary on November 6, 2020 with problems swallowing. He had been rapidly losing weight and went in for an X-ray after the GP told the family he needed a feeding tube inserting into his stomach.

As the retired sheet metal worker was admitted during strict Covid restrictions, his family were not able to visit.

The next day the hospital called and said he had mistakenly been given medication orally, and that an internal investigation had been launched.

This showed he had been given a tablet of slow-release analgesia, orally, during the night shift of the November 7. Prescription records also revealed he was given the medication on two other occasions.

The medication caused the man to vomit and on November 7, he went on to develop aspiration pneumonia. Despite being placed on antibiotics, his condition deteriorated and he died on November 9.

The family was not informed that he was deteriorating as a nurse accidentally called the man’s own mobile instead of his wife’s. By the time they got to hospital he had already died.

Hudgells Solicitors, which represent the family, said the Trust has admitted breaching its duty of care, following a medical negligence claim. The trust had denied its errors caused his death, but offered an out-of-court damages settlement.

His daughter said the hospital had “closed ranks”. She called on the hospital to change the way it deals with grieving families, as they never received a phone call or letter of explanation, or an apology after her dad died.

She said she would never forget the look on her dad’s face when they saw him, adding: “We weren’t expecting it, we thought he was going in hospital to solve the problem.

“When we later got my dad’s belongings there were missed calls from the hospital on his mobile instead.

"They were ringing dad to tell him he was dying instead. We were in shock.

"He wasn’t a well man but not at the point of passing away. It has completely destroyed my mum. It’s completely destroyed us all.”

She said they should speak to relatives, apologise and explain, adding: “When we looked at their report it didn’t say that he had been sick. I won’t ever come to terms with it.”

Kirsty Yates from Hudgells said the case highlighted “serious and the most basic mistakes”, with poor communication leading to “wholly avoidable errors”.