The death of a retired police officer whose head became trapped between the rails and mattress of his hospital bed was an "avoidable accident", a coroner has concluded. Max Dingle, 83, from Powys, died 15 minutes after he was found "entrapped" on a ward at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital on May 3, 2020.
Concluding an inquest into Surrey-born Mr Dingle's death, a senior coroner found resuscitation had not been attempted despite the pensioner electing for life-saving intervention and having a pulse when he was found. Earlier this month, Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, was fined £1,333,334 for failing to provide safe care to Mr Dingle and another patient - whose case is not linked - who died in different circumstances.
Senior coroner John Ellery said Mr Dingle, of Newtown, was originally admitted to hospital with "shortness of breath" on April 27, 2020. His medical history showed he had suffered with a heart condition, lymphoedema and sleep apnoea.
