Why did our son die with 100 TIMES safe limit of heavy metal in his blood?
Grieving family demand answers after son, 26, dies of organ failure
THE family of a nurse who died from organ failure are fighting for answers over his death.
Alex Duncan had toxic levels of metal found in his body when examined by a pathologist.
But a probe failed to establish how the 26-year-old became exposed to cadmium – which is used to make batteries.
Now Alex’s loved ones have demanded a fresh inquiry to establish how he came into contact with the material.
Alex, who worked at Dunfermline’s Queen Margaret Hospital, was found to have 270 units of cadmium in his blood.
The normal level should be below three, medics say – nearly 100 times less.
Mum Chris and dad Ian Duncan said they waited 14 months for results of a probe by Public Health Scotland, NHS Fife and the Crown Office but were left frustrated when tests failed to find the source of Alex’s exposure.
They believe the likely source is his work due to his reduced movements in the pandemic.
Chris, 66, a retired dentist, said: “He fought hard. He didn’t want to die. He was fit but Alex’s symptoms were unique – they just couldn’t pin it down.
“It was the Thursday before he died when the hospital heard back from a professor in London who asked if they had checked for heavy metals.
“But it was too late. When I saw him that day, something had changed because he was getting agitated and angry which wasn’t like him.
“They realised it was being caused by a form of septicaemia from bacteria which sparked a mad panic to change all his medical lines in case that’s where it was coming from.
She added: “The consultant asked would we consider a postmortem on medical grounds because they were so perplexed.
“We said absolutely because he would’ve hated for anyone else to have to deal with what he dealt with.”
Alex was first admitted to Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy, but his condition worsened and he was moved to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh to begin blood tests.
He fell ill in August 2020, and died the next month after spending 15 days in hospital. The post-mortem revealed high levels of cadmium in his urine with his kidneys damaged by the toxic metal. Dad Ian, 71, said: “We were all being investigated – the house, the water, the soil, the cats, all his electronics. “But everything came back with no trace of cadmium. So we assumed the same thing would be happening at his work. “Because we were in lockdown, the only places Alex was going was home, at work or out with his partner Freya.We waited 14 months for a report that doesn’t specify anything .
“When we asked PHS what tests they carried out at the hospital... they were beating around the bush and eventually told us nothing had been tested.
“There were no questions answered. They said they couldn’t talk about the specifics of Alex’s case as the report is anonymised.
“But they want to use his case to do a report on cadmium. They say the conclusion was they don’t think Alex’s case had anything to do with cadmium.”
Alex and his partner Freya Anderson-Ward, 31, decided to get wed in the hospital. But Chris added: “They then said they were going to have to put him in an induced coma and didn’t know if he’d wake up again.
“Freya told him she loved him and would be there when he woke up. But he never did.”
Public Health Scotland confirmed it is working with NHS Fife, who are leading the inquiry, but was unable to comment on an ongoing probe.