Medical neglect contributed to the death of a woman who suffered a fall at Newham University Hospital.
Urmila Patel, 78, died on July 5 last year, six days after she fell and struck her head whilst using the toilet at the hospital.
An inquest concluded that Mrs Patel died due to an accident compounded by neglect, London Now reports.
The court heard that when she was admitted to the hospital with suspected sepsis on June 10, appropriate falls risk assessments were not undertaken.
East London Senior Coroner Graeme Irvine said that despite a fall on June 23, staff failed to reassess Mrs Patel’s risk of falls.
On the afternoon of June 29 she was not being adequately supported by staff whilst using the toilet, leading to the fall which would prove fatal.
In the immediate aftermath of the fall Mrs Patel’s son told staff she had struck her head, but despite this her medication was not discontinued and no request was made for a CT scan of her head.
Her condition later deteriorated until a medical review was triggered two days later due to Mrs Patel’s lowered consciousness and facial droop.
At that stage a CT scan was undertaken which showed a significant subdural haematoma which was placing pressure on her brain, Mr Irvine said.
Mrs Patel was not deemed to be a safe candidate for neurosurgery and she died the following week.
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Among the matters of concern raised by Mr Irvine were that the duty doctor failed to act decisively and refer Mrs Patel for an urgent CT scan following the fall.
He also criticised nursing staff for failing to mitigate Mrs Patel’s risk of falls.
A spokesperson for Barts Health NHS Trust said: "We offer our heartfelt condolences to Ms Patel’s family and are taking the findings of the report extremely seriously as patient safety is our absolute priority.
"We have already implemented a project focused on the prevention of falls and further actions will be agreed as we continue to work with the coroner and Ms Patel's family."
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