A devastated family have finally received compensation after a much-loved husband and father tragically died following 'sub-standard-care' at a hospital back in 2017.
David Cove passed away in late 2017 after the Diana Princess of Wales Hospital in Grimsby, run by Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust, failed to consider that Mr Cove had a pulmonary embolism.
Mr Cove had visited his GP in June 2017 after suffering from breathing difficulties and coughing up blood. An electrocardiogram (ECG) was carried out by his GP which showcased atrial flutter, Grimsby Live reports.
Mr Cove's doctor attempted to refer him to the on-call physicians for emergency admission at the hospital but was unable to get in touch after being on hold for more than 30 minutes.
Mr Cove was sent to the A&E department for emergency admission via an ambulance with a referral letter for the on call Medical Team.
But upon arrival at the the hospital, Mr Cove was not met with medical team, and they were unaware of his arrival. Instead he was triaged in the A&E department, where his observations were noted to be low.
An ECG was then arranged and the results were classed as abnormal. The locum doctor who then reviewed Mr Cove failed to obtain a complete medical history, particularly that he had haemoptysis - coughing up blood.
A further X-ray was then taken where abnormal findings were made and he was diagnosed with viral or infective exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (COPD). Despite the abnormal observations, Mr Cove was sent home with antibiotics.
The following day, Mr Cove complained of breathing difficulties and his wife, who left the room to get his inhaler, came back to see her husband collapsed on the floor. She rang an ambulance, but sadly he was pronounced dead on arrival.
An internal investigation conducted by NLaG identified root causes which contributed to the sad demise of Mr Cove, including the inability to contact the on-call team at the Diana Princess of Wales Hospital. His family have now received compensation. A Coroner's inquest ruled that his death was caused by a massive bilateral pulmonary embolism and cardiomyopathy.
Speaking about the loss of his father and the investigation Dean Cove, David's son, said: "When I took the call from my mother, I was devastated but not totally surprised as my mother had mentioned that he was seeing his GP for a health condition and had been given a letter to take to a hospital in Lincolnshire. I was living in London at the time.
What is a Binary Pulmonary Embolism and cardiomyopathy?
Binary Pulmonary Embolism - "When a blood clot gets caught in one of the arteries that go from the heart to the lungs, it's called a pulmonary embolism (PE). The clot blocks the normal flow of blood. This blockage can cause serious problems, like damage to your lungs and low oxygen levels in your blood" - NHS England
Cardiomyopathy - A general term for diseases of the heart muscle, where the walls of the heart chambers have become stretched, thickened or stiff. This affects the heart's ability to pump blood around the body. - NHS England
"My mother mentioned that my father had only briefly been seen by a locum [temporary] doctor when my late father's GP did ask for him to be kept in the hospital overnight for observation and treatment. He was sent home against the advice of the GP."
After being told of his father's death, Dean said it was an incredibly difficult moment for him and his family. "Shock was the immediate reaction and an overwhelming feeling of sadness and despair when I was told he'd died.
"On the last few times I had seen my father I had travelled up to see him and my mother in Lincolnshire. Before his death, he spoke to me and said that he would very much like to see me more often and we spoke of future short breaks together with both my family and himself and my mother."
He added: "My father was a very intelligent person, he could do anything. He was good with finances and very skilled as a tradesman also, having ran his own company before retiring. He liked to watch TV, music, gardening, play games and travel whenever possible. In my opinion my father was one of those people that was good at almost anything he put his hand to."
The family contacted Hodge Jones & Allen to assist them to identify and understand the shortcomings in the care that was provided to Mr Cove by the Trust. It was found that there was a failure to consider that Mr Cove had a pulmonary embolism. Had this been recognised and treated, Mr Cove would have received treatment in the form of anticoagulants which would have avoided the fatal pulmonary embolism which led to his sudden death.
Dean added: "It is heart-breaking to know that my father’s death could have been avoided had his healthcare been provided with greater attention and detail. I miss my father greatly, he was taken from us far too soon, and no settlement can bring him back. However, I hope that this settlement will encourage the NHS to put in place better procedures for the continuity of care. I hope lessons are swiftly learnt so no other family has to suffer due to these types of failings by medical professionals."
Sonia Rani, Solicitor at Hodge Jones & Allen said: “In this sad case there was a clear failure to obtain the deceased’s proper medical history in A&E, which unfortunately led to the failure to diagnose a pulmonary embolism. We must continue to hold our health providers to higher standards and work to prevent such tragedies. If handled differently, staff at Diana Princess of Wales Hospital in Grimsby could have avoided Mr Cove’s premature death.
"We are glad that we were able to work in collaboration with the Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to secure a settlement for Mr Cove’s family which recognises the impact of his death. However, no amount of compensation can make up for the tragedy of his death. Lessons must be learnt, vital information must be shared between clinicians to avoid, potentially, easily preventable deaths in the future.”
Peter Reading, Chief Executive, at Northern Lincolnshire NHS Foundation Trust said: “I would like to extend my sincere apologies and my deepest condolences to the family of the late Mr Cove for the errors in the care he received at Grimsby hospital in 2017. We accepted liability for this at the earliest opportunity and apologised to the family at the time.”
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