Elderly man dies after trolley wait

An elderly man with pressure sores spent six hours on a trolley in a hospital’s accident and emergency department, an inquest has been told.

The 99-year-old was taken to The Pilgrim Hospital after a fall at his Donington home, but he already had pressure sores. One of them later formed an abscess and Albert Stock died from sepsis, said coroner Paul Cooper who gave a narrative verdict.
The hearing, on October 20, heard that Mr Stock, of Crosslands, had been frail and suffering from pressure sores on both his foot and sacrum which were being treated.
He had been receiving visits from a variety of carers and clinical staff in the weeks leading up to his death on June 20 last year.
He also suffered a fall at home and spent six hours on the hospital trolley on June 4 “which may have made it worse,” said Mr Cooper.
“That’s quite a long time for someone in his position,” he added.
Mr Stock had previously been cared for by his son and his wife, but it had became more difficult and carers were brought in to help.
He was visited regularly between March 2019 and the time of his death by carers, nurses and other medical professionals.
The pressure sore on his sacrum was being dressed and monitored by care staff, the inquest was told. It was recorded that the sore was relatively small and had appeared to improve under a care plan.
But it had also been noted that the wound on his sacrum had visibly deteriorated on May 31.
A Tissue Viability Nurse said there had also been concern about the bed Mr Stock was using because he was spending up to 12 hours in it.
She said there had also been discussion around a type of mattress used to help alleviate pressure sores.
Mr Cooper said there was no question that Mr Stock had been well looked after.
He had received ‘exemplary care from true professionals,’ said the coroner.
Mr Cooper said he initially had a concern that there appeared to be a gap in visits to Mr Stock between March and June, but additional evidence showed he had, in fact, received many visits in the weeks leading-up to his death.
The narrative verdict gave sepsis as the first cause of Mr Stock’s death with old age and arthritis as a secondary cause.