Sponsored by
Coroner highlights concerns over drug procedures at Sunderland Royal Hospital following disabled man’s death
Copy pix of Carl Winspear who had cerebral palsey and has died of swine flu.
A DISABLED man who died of pneumonia in Sunderland Royal Hospital missed doses of medication.
It was revealed at an inquest into the death of Carl Winspear, who suffered from cerebral palsy, there were gaps between some doses of antibiotics, due to the timing of drugs rounds at the hospital, and there was no record of another prescribed antibiotic being given at all.
The 28-year-old who lived in Columbia, Washington, with mum Elaine died in January after he was admitted to the hospital with a chest infection.
The inquest in Sunderland heard how Carl was prescribed a range of antibiotics by medics, as there were doubts over the cause of the infection.
A doctor from the hospital claimed he was 90 to 95 per cent sure the missed doses would not have caused Carls death.
However, City of Sunderland coroner Derek Winter is now using his powers to write to the hospital and the Secretary of State for Health in light of Carls case.
Dr Andrew Berrington told the inquest in Doxford Park that there was a 14-hour delay between doses of one antibiotic and about 20 hours between another, as they were prescribed after the first doses should have been given.
He said: I do not like giving percentages on chance, but there was 90 to 95 per cent chance that these delays did not affect the outcome.
Had we identified the cause of this infection it would have been easier to target the antibiotics.
Dr Berrington added that a new version of the hospitals electronic prescription system was being introduced and training for new doctors had been improved.
He said: We have 50 to 100 junior doctor prescribers in the hospital which turn over every year, so we have to get it right each time.
With the new system, which is being rolled out in the next year, or so I have been told, the nurses will have a much clearer picture of what happens to previous doses.
But Carls aunty Sandra Noble, speaking on behalf of the family, said: The hospital have badly let Carl down. No one could have known if any of this medication could have made a difference but he was not given a chance.
Carl could not communicate that he was in pain. We will never know what happened that night and how Carl suffered.
The family also raised concerns that a Do Not Resuscitate order was placed on Carls file by doctors.
Mr Winter added that he decided to make a report under the Coroners Rules as he had dealt with two similar cases.
Verdict: natural causes
Follow Echo reporter Jane ONeill on Twitter
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Sunderland
Thursday 23 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 7 C to 14 C
Wind Speed: 25 mph
Wind direction: West
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 4 C to 10 C
Wind Speed: 26 mph
Wind direction: West
Comments
There are 2 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
superwomen
Tuesday, August 2, 2011 at 06:11 PMthis should never have happend,carl was taken in with a chest infection and didint get any antibiotics for at least 14 hours 20 hours for anther one,they wrote a dnar on him at 3am and didnt inform his family, how dare thet make a decision as important as that without informing his family especialy as they had requested as far back as 2007 that it was put on his nots they were never to issue one,his mother wasnt allowed to stay with him,she asked all day and was told to go home.not once did they explain he was so poorly,all the dr was interested in was 'this had nothing to do with goverment cut' yeh right!!! its disgracefull the way this has been handled from begining to end
shirley.snowball
Friday, July 22, 2011 at 09:59 AMA few years ago while in newcastle general I was given my Combined sleeping tablet and pain killer every 4 hours insteAd of once at night. If it wasn't for my husband noticing and telling the nurse od knows what I would have been like. They then took my notes away and never brouht them back.
Page 1 of 1
Your view
Please sign in to be able to comment on this story.