University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust has admitted liability after the death of an elderly patient with dementia at Heartlands Hospital in Bordesley Green.
University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust has admitted liability in relation to the death of an 86-year-old man at Heartlands Hospital in Bordesley Green, Birmingham, who died on 4 April 2020 at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic of pneumonia after aspirating an unthickened cup of coffee left by his bedside.
He had lived with dementia and other health conditions since 2013 and had moved into Bromford Lane Care Centre in 2018, where he required one-to-one assistance due to the severity of his illness and his high risk of aspiration when eating and drinking.
In late March 2020, shortly after the first national lockdown began, the patient developed a cough and fever. He was admitted to Heartlands Hospital on 28 March 2020 and later tested positive for Covid-19.
Nutrition and hydration records show that in the days before his death, the patient was offered little or no food or fluids.
On 3 April 2020, his condition had significantly deteriorated, and he was unconscious, gasping for breath and had lost a lot of weight. Medical records from the same day noted the patient’s coffee-stained clothes, which suggested he had attempted to drink an unthickened cup of coffee which had been left at his bedside despite his well-known swallowing difficulties.
University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust has admitted liability in relation to leaving an unthickened cup of coffee near the patient, which, after being aspirated, led to him developing pneumonia and subsequently dying.
“This was a deeply avoidable tragedy,” said Lucie Boase, associate solicitor at Leigh Day in London. “Though the admission of liability from the Trust is a significant step towards accountability, sadly, it comes too late for [the patient] and his family.”
