EXCLUSIVE: Hospital blunders led to Crawley man's death

AN ELDERLY man died from a blood clot after a series of blunders at East Surrey Hospital, an inquest heard.

Anthony Tidd, of Oak Way, Northgate, died when he developed deep vein thrombosis after being left five days waiting for an operation.

The 72-year-old broke his hip after falling in his garden on August 26 last year and was taken to East Surrey later that day.

The inquest sitting at Woking Coroner's Court last Wednesday (June 17) heard how Mr Tidd was a healthy man but was not top of the priority list for his operation at the hospital.

Coroner Karin Englehart ruled that Mr Tidd's death had been accidental but was "compounded" by the hospital's delay in treatment.

His daughter, Amanda Manser told the coroner she made regular phone calls to the hospital to find out his condition and when he would be having his operation.

Mrs Manser said she never saw her father's consultant and noticed the day before he died he was not wearing his compression stockings.

Mr Tidd's consultant, Mr Drabu explained how a illness had left him immobile and unable to make his usual rounds to see all his patients.

He said: "I did not meet Mr Tidd, I relied on my junior staff.

"There was not another consultant taking my place. I met with my staff three times a week and I knew about Mr Tidd orthopedically.

"I was aware he had waited five days for his operation. We go through everything. We go through their x-rays and what they need orthopedically. "

Mr Drabu explained there was a procedure in place for preventing deep vein thrombosis in vulnerable patients.

Patients were given foot pumps, wore stockings and given anti-clotting drugs to prevent clots from developing.

Mr Drabu admitted Mr Tidd was at risk of developing a clot and he did not check the preventative measures were being carried out.

A pathologist confirmed the death was caused by the clot in the lung, a pulmonary embolism, which could have been contributed by Mr Tidd's inactivity for five days.

The coroner read out a statement from Mr Tidd's GP who said he was a "healthy" man.

Coroner Mrs Englehart recorded a verdict of accidental death compounded by delay in provision of necessary therapy.

FAMILY'S ANGER

THE daughter of Anthony Tidd says the consultant who was responsible for her father should "hang his head in shame."

Mandy Manser said she was not satisfied with the coroner's verdict and criticised the hospital for not following the correct procedure.

Mrs Manser said: "The consultant never even met our dad, he was just an x-ray, not a person.

"Our father spent five days waiting for an operation on his broken hip.

"He was a fit and well man on the morning of Tuesday August 26 and was dead by the following Saturday afternoon.

"We believe that East Surrey Hospital failed in its duty of care in every way. They failed to follow their protocols and did nothing to prevent a deep vein thrombosis.

"The orthopaedic consultant in charge of our father's case should hang his head in shame."

Fellow daughter Joy Hamilton added: "If you leave someone immobile for days, you have to protect them. We've waited nine months for that verdict."

HOSPITAL SAYS SORRY

EAST Surrey Hospital has apologised to Mr Tidd's family for the care he received.

Dr Catherine Greenaway, medical director at Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, which runs East Surrey, said: "We offer our deepest sympathy to the family and accept that Mr Tidd should have received better quality care.

"This is a lesson for us and we have already made improvements to our practices and training for staff.

"At the beginning of last year, we started work on improving our thromboprophylaxis policy, which helps minimise the risk of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism.

"The new policy, which was implemented earlier this year, looks at every detail of a patient's condition and treatment.

"The treatment of hip fractures is a priority and we are investing in improved treatment and more staff."