Banker, 69, died in hospital toilet cubicle after 'confusion about his care by different doctors checking on him'

An NHS consultant has blamed a hospital system which allowed different doctors to look after the same patient for the death of a pensioner who was found collapsed in a toilet.
David Pattrick, 69, was discovered lying on the floor of the cubicle two days after a gall bladder operation.
An inquest heard he had complained of severe abdominal pain, which his widow, Susan, 64, said staff at Colchester General Hospital failed to investigate properly.
Giving evidence at the hearing, the hospital’s professor of surgery, Roger Motson, said a system which allows different surgeons to check on post-operative patients had led to confusion about Mr Pattrick’s care.
‘A pool list was introduced to try to treat patients more quickly,’ he said. ‘It breeds uncertainty as to who is looking after a patient. It’s a reflection of doctors’ working hours and never would have happened in the past.’
Mr Pattrick, a retired banker from Marks Tey, near Colchester, was admitted to the hospital in December 2010, to have his gall bladder removed.
He was told he would be able to return home the day after the routine operation but the surgeon discovered he had an infection and opted for a different procedure.
He was put on antibiotics and his vital signs were monitored but on December 22 he was found collapsed in the toilet.
A post mortem examination revealed he had died from septicaemia, or infection of the blood.

Treatment: Mr Pattrick was found dead in a toilet cubicle in Colchester General Hospital in Essex in 2010

The surgeon who performed the operation, Dr James Wright, told the inquest in Chelmsford: ‘In my opinion he was making good progress to getting better and going home.’

David Patrick is pictured with his wife Susan

But Mr Pattrick’s legal team questioned why staff had not become concerned at his high white blood cell count and blood sugar levels.
They also said he had only seen a nurse and a registrar with four months experience in the day before his death. Mrs Pattrick has accused registrar Dr Kalpesh Vaghela of failing to alert senior doctors to her husband’s abdominal pain.

He told the inquest: ‘I agree some of his levels were abnormal but not something to be alarmed at enough to alert someone at a senior level.’ Dr Jonathan Refson, an independent clinician, told the inquest he had concerns about how the hospital cared for Mr Pattrick after the operation.
He said the junior doctor looking after him should have raised warning signs with senior consultants.
‘There was a confusion of consultants,’ he said. ‘They are all saying it wasn’t their responsibility. No one took ownership.’
The hospital has denied wrongdoing, but has admitted no senior doctors were able to see Mr Pattrick on the day he died, leaving a trainee and a nurse to diagnose his symptoms when he complained of pain.
Nurse Jane Bradley-Hendricks admitted she routinely made surgical decisions despite not being a qualified doctor. Mrs Pattrick, an equality, diversity and disability consultant, is suing Colchester General Hospital for other ‘failings’ in its care for her husband.

She said investigations revealed an emergency alarm system had not been fitted in the cubicle at the new £18.75million Mersea Ward. Nurses also did not have sufficient training to use a suction pump to clear his airways.
A Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust spokesman said: ‘Additional training was organised for staff in the checking and use of resuscitation equipment and the ward sister now ensures that all emergency equipment is checked daily.’
The inquest was adjourned until Wednesday.

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