7:00am Thursday 6th November 2008
By Joanna Codd
A GRIEVING father whose 37-year-old son died soon after being sent home with strong painkillers from an accident and emergency department has had his complaint against the hospital upheld.
Peter Cox, of New Milton, believes his son Robert would still be alive today if he had at least been kept in Southampton General Hospital overnight for observation.
Independent watchdog the Healthcare Commission has now rapped the hospital trust; told it to come up with an action plan to address shortfalls in Robert’s care and treatment; and ordered it to apologise for the quality of its response to Mr Cox’s original complaint. Robert Cox contacted the emergency services early in the morning of Wednesday, January 3, 2007. Normally fit and healthy, he had severe pain in his left thigh and was taken to Southampton General Hospital by ambulance.
He was admitted to the emergency department at 6.30am with a high pulse rate of 120 beats a minute and given three lots of painkillers in 45 minutes – paracetamol, ibuprofen and dihydrocodeine.
He was scanned for a suspected deep vein thrombosis, but nothing was found, and he was sent home a few hours later with dihydrocodeine tablets.
Technician Robert was found dead in his flat in Romsey on January 6. An open verdict was recorded at an inquest in Winchester. The cause of his death was not established but dihydrocodeine poisoning was given as the most likely.
But his father, mother Jill, and sisters Teresa and Victoria are still seeking answers. “When he was discharged, he was given 28 tablets of dihydrocodeine. Six were missing. There was no emphasis on how to take them or whether they were dangerous,” claimed Mr Cox, 66.
“They let him down. They didn’t ask if he was on his own or had anyone to care for him. He was sent home with what I consider to be a dangerous tablet. In his anxiety and pain, he could have taken more than the prescribed dose.
“The friend who came to pick him up from hospital noticed he was walking like an old man and was dehydrated. He tried to contact her mobile the next day. She responded 12 minutes later but there was no reply from my son.
“The full horror of Robert’s death is him dying on his own, probably in terror and pain. That hurts me deeply.”
When Robert’s landlady found him, his left leg was black and blistered. The pathologist found his spleen was enlarged, which can be a sign of illness or infection, and he had fluid around his lungs.
Tragically, the family had already lost Robert’s older brother Andrew, who died in Southampton Hospital in 1985 at the age of 20 from complications of his leukaemia treatment.
“With Andrew we fought for 16 months. With Robert we didn’t have 16 seconds to fight for him,” said Mr Cox. “I want to highlight what my family has been through.
“If the hospital hadn’t discharged him when they did, he could have been still alive.”
Among the Healthcare Commission’s recommendations are that patients should be given verbal and written advice and information with strong painkillers.
William Roche, the hospital’s medical director, said: “I can confirm a complaint has been received from Mr Cox’s family and is being investigated under the NHS complaints procedure.
“I am unable to comment on the specific details of this patient’s care as our investigation is still ongoing.”
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