Senin, 02 Juli 2012

Hospital patient died of thirst after dialling 999 begging for a drink... but staff turned police away insisting he was 'fine'

Hospital patient died of thirst after dialling 999 begging for a drink... but staff turned police away insisting he was 'fine'

  • Nurses forgot to give Kane Gorny his medication and he became so delirious he called 999
  • His mother said she spent hours trying to convince staff he needed attention but was told he was alright
  • Alarm finally raised an hour before his death when a doctor realised how serious his condition was

By Emily Allen

PUBLISHED: 09:30 EST, 2 July 2012 | UPDATED: 11:09 EST, 2 July 2012


A desperate hospital patient who died of thirst after he was denied vital medication rang police and begged them to bring him a drink, an inquest heard today.

Kane Gorny, 22, needed drugs to regulate his hormone levels after successfully beating brain cancer months earlier.

But during a further hospital stay nurses forgot to give him his medication and he became so delirious he was forced to call 999 to ask for help.

Kane Gorny

Hospital: Kane Gorny, 22, pictured with his mother Rita, needed drugs to regulate his hormone levels after successfully beating brain cancer. However, during a hospital stay nurses forgot to give him his medication

Officers raced to St George’s Hospital in Tooting, south London, but were turned away by staff who insisted Mr Gorny was fine, Westminster Coroner’s Court heard.

He had been admitted in May 2009 to undergo hip replacement surgery after his bones were weakened as a side-effect of taking prescribed steroids.

Giving evidence, Rita Cronin, his mother, said she spent hours trying to convince staff he needed urgent attention but was repeatedly told he was alright.

The alarm was finally raised barely an hour before his death when a doctor on rounds stepped into his room and realised how serious his condition was.

‘He walked straight in, took one look at him and called to everyone, “Get in here quick!”,’ said Mrs Cronin.

‘That’s when it dawned on me - he’s not had any medication, no observations, no fluids, nobody has given him a drink, nobody has done anything from yesterday.’

Fighting back tears, she described the moment she was allowed to see Kane’s body after he was pronounced dead at St George’s Hospital in Tooting, southwest London, on May 28, 2009.

‘He was lying flat on his back and he had tubes, and there was iodine or something on the bed,’ she said.

‘But he was dead. He was already dead. I felt sick.’

The inquest heard Kane had been prescribed hydrocortisone, a hormone normally produced naturally by the brain.

Rita Cronin Peter Gorny

Inquest: Rita Cronin, left, and Kane's father Peter Gorny arriving at their son's inquest. Rita told the court she had tried to convince the staff at the hospital her son needed urgent attention but they insisted he was alright

One effect of the medication is to increase the body’s retention of fluids.

Kane, who worked at Waitrose, had been training to become a locksmith and shoe repairer.

He was said to have been athletic and a keen runner until he was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour in mid-2008.

Medics managed to get rid of the tumour by putting him through a six-week course of radiotherapy, followed by hormone therapy because of damage to his pituitary gland.

Just weeks after being given the all-clear, Mrs Cronin said she began to notice he was walking awkwardly, and complained of a pain in his hip.

It emerged that steroids prescribed as a result of the cancer had weakened his hips, and arrangements were made for Kane to have hip replacement surgery.

As he waited for the surgery, his life started to return to normal.

‘He was out and about like everybody else,’ said Mrs Cronin.

‘I always used to make him take his tablets for the next morning, just in case he stayed at a friend’s house - and he knew the importance of his medication. We all did.

‘He was starting to enjoy his life again, even though he had pains in his hip.

‘He was angry with the fact he had got this condition, and he was upset he was having a hip replacement - he was worried he would be in a wheelchair when he was 50.’

After Kane arrived at St George’s Hospital on May 25, nursing staff refused to let him administer his own medication, she claimed.

St George's Hospital, Tooting, south London

Help: Police raced to St George's Hospital in Tooting, south London (pictured) but were turned away by staff

‘The nurse said, “Don’t worry, he’s in good hands - we’ll look after him.”’

The inquest heard his operation went well and he lay recuperating in his hospital bed until ringing his mother on the morning of May 27.

‘He was shouting,’ she said. ‘He sounded really, really distressed and said “they won’t get me a drink”.’

During a string of phone calls, Kane became ‘delirious’ and said he had called the police.

His mother later arrived on the ward to find he had pulled down the curtains by his bed, and had been held down by a security guard.

As a result of the outburst, staff moved him to a separate room.

‘I just thought they weren’t doing anything,’ said Mrs Cronin.

‘I thought some of them were out of their depth.

‘If it was me, I would have called for some advice or help if I was out of my depth. I would have expected them to do that, but I don’t think they did.

‘Everyone knew about his previous history because I was telling them non-stop. But nobody mentioned his medication.’

The inquest, expected to last three days, is scheduled to resume next week.

 

Here's what other readers have said. Why not add your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards.

The comments below have been moderated in advance.

  • Newest
  • Oldest
  • Best rated
  • Worst rated

This has always happened, I was in hospital at the age of 9 in 1967, the nurses gave me no drinks, my parents asked them too, and they still did not. 20 years ago, I had post-op haemmorrhage and was rushed into hospital via ambulance for a blood transfusion, which they 'forgot' to give, leading to months of extreme fatigue. Whilst in the hospital for just 2 days, they mistakenly took the wrong patient to theatre twice, despite the patients trying to point out the error (and the 2nd time the patient herself), and only returned her when the mistake was discovered after anaesthesia. These mistakes are not a recent trend, they have never been addressed.

Report abuse

I had a cyst removed at that very hospital. Woke at 3am with pillow coverewd in blood. No staff available to help. One of the other patients (a male nurse) helped clean me up. I discharged myself next day. No faith in them at all.

Report abuse

This was bound to happen once the NHS was privatised. Once you start down the road of cutting costs over caring for people things will only get worse

Report abuse

I have always thought these stories were isolated incidents and few and far between. My sister has spent the last 3 weeks in and out of hospital and I have lost all faith in the quality of nursing in NHS wards. She has a long fight ahead of her and i am very worried about her need to spend more time in hospital. She has had to remind them when she is due medication, when her drip needs to be reattached and was asked to choose from a list of meds which one she needed. She is 28 and can currently keep track of these things but many people on the ward were elderly ladies that were unable to do so. If her husband or our mum or I have said anything we have been met with tutting, eye rolling and ultimately more often than not we have been ignored. This is a horrifying story. This poor young man.

Report abuse

Angie, Chesterfield, at 36yrs and being fit and healthy, i was diagnosed with needing to have surgery on a spinal cartilage after suffering most of my adult life with severe back pain. Worried about MRSA I wanted to be screened to see if I were a carrier of the infection, and also to be screened after the procedure, at my own expense. I was flatly refused. I had a discussion with the neurosurgeon at length, and told him under no circumstances would I have the procedure without the screening.Having had a very bad experience on a surgical ward in 2006 i decided to live with the pain, and live infection free!! The arrogance of some medical professionals is very disturbing at times. My most heartfelt sympathy to Kane's family.

Report abuse

This is not the first time this sort of thing has happened. The police need to sharpen their act and assume the NHS are lying unless they get proof otherwise e.g. two consultants actually examining the patient and not just a glib assurance that all is OK. Custodial sentences are needed in these cases and hospitals may need to close and reopen as prisons to provide accommodation for the culprits. Is the NHS any better than the bankers in these cases?

Report abuse

My God what has happen to our country?

Report abuse

You do not need nurses with degrees the NHS need nurses with common sense and empathy sorely missing in a lot of nurses these days. Poor man RIP and I feel so sorry for his family. On one occasion one of my children were hospital for a minor op but the consultant order pain med s. Before the op after the op my daughter was in a lot of pain did I realise they she not been given the meeds. I kindly asked a bunch of nurses huddled by a work station could my daughter have some painkillers . They looked at me as if I had two heads and one eventually came and looked at my daughters chart, her stuck up attitude changed when she realised No one had undertaken the doctors orders. I know this is insignificant in comparison to thus story but it is the underlying attitude that they are always right and patients and relative must never question them. Nursing is being ruined in this country.

Report abuse

This is such a distressing story and my heart goes out to the parents and family of this young man. What on EARTH were the nursing staff thinking if they can't recognise a medical emergency which the doctor only needed one glance to tell it was urgent? Why did they not even call someone more qualified? This is completely disgusting.

Report abuse

"Iv been red flagged before on this subject,but il say it again.nurses are useless." The red arrow would be for your broad sweeping statement that does not reflect the majority of nurses'. Hopefully measures, and procedures will be put in place to ensure such a tragedy never happens again. Some health care workers mistakely assume a patient is being unhelpful, rude or hysterical when in reality the behaviour is the result of an underlying problem. It's shocking that no one checked his drug chart, or sought senior medical advise.

Report abuse

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

Diposting oleh di

Tidak ada komentar:

Posting Komentar

Langganan: Posting Komentar (Atom)