Hospital sent home patient with brain bleeding

Accountant John Bailey, 37, was involved in a fight following a pub disco and hit his head on the ground after being felled with a single punch, the hearing was told.

He was treated at Barnsley District Hospital afterwards but was discharged, returning to work and even going on holiday to Greece but he later fell ill and complained of headaches.

His brother twice tried to get appointments for him at a local GP's surgery but a home visit was refused.

Mr Bailey then had to be readmitted to hospital where he died a few days later, the inquest in Sheffield was told.

Although police initially began a murder inquiry and arrested three people, nobody was charged over the death and the case has now been closed.

Det Sgt Steve Trigg told the inquest Mr Bailey was taken to hospital in the early hours of Saturday, September 15, 2007 after an altercation outside the Dearne Hotel in Bolton upon Dearne, South Yorkshire.

Mr Bailey's younger brother Eric had begun fighting with Andrew Gill in the car park as revellers left the disco.

Mr Bailey went to help his brother but was held back by Jason Holden.

Witnesses said Mr Holden then punched John Bailey in the face with his fist and Mr Bailey fell backwards.

He sustained a minor cut to the back of his head, which was bleeding and fell unconscious for two to three minutes.

But by the time paramedics arrived he had come round and was sat on a bench being comforted by friends

The inquest heard that Mr Bailey was treated at the Barnsley hospital then went back to work for a fortnight before setting off on holiday with his brother.

But by October 16 he said he was suffering from headaches and "felt terrible." He slept a lot and had low energy levels.

His brother twice tried to get an appointment at a doctor's surgery when John was too ill to move but a home visit was refused. Eric Bailey told the inquest: "They said he would have to go himself."

By October 19 John was so unwell he fell out of bed and his brother had him readmitted to Barnsley Hospital.

He was given a lumbar puncture and a CT scan and transferred to Sheffield's Royal Hallamshire Hospital where he died on October 26, 2007.

The results of a post-mortem examination found that the brain was swollen and that Mr Bailey had suffered bleeding on the brain which was some weeks old.

A pathologist's report said Mr Bailey had suffered what was believed to be a second bleeding inside the brain due to increasing pressure and that a blunt force to the back of the head was the probable cause of the injury.

Although there was no skull fracture, the pathologist found that Mr Bailey's injuries were likely to be related to the incident at the pub when he had fallen and hit the left side of the back of his head on the ground.

Eric Bailey told the hearing he began fighting after Mr Gill shouted at him. He said: "He was calling me names from something which happened in the past."

He did not see anything happen to his brother in the melee as people spilled put of the pub. He then found John unconscious on the ground with blood pouring from his head.

Eyewitness John Kelly said he had been celebrating the wetting of a baby's head with friends. He said: "I saw the fight break out between Andrew Gill and Eric Bailey and they were both scuffling and giving as good as they got."

John Bailey tried to intervene but Jason Holden blocked his path. He said: "I saw Jason lash out with his hand and strike him a blow on the side of his head.

"The single blow caused John to fall backwards and hit the back of his head on the ground as he fell."

The inquest continues.