Hospital staff are retrained after disabled man’s death
Fun nostalgia trip rooted in the present
ACORONER has been hearing how a hospital has retrained staff as a result of the death of a man severely disabled after a police car chase 17 years ago.
Keith Robert Butterworth died aged 36 on November 3, 2019 at Springhill Hospice in Rochdale after being transferred out of Bury’s Fairfield General Hospital to receive end-of-life care.
Senior coroner for Rochdale Joanne Kearsley was told that Keith had been quadriplegic since he was cut from the wreckage of a Vauxhall Vectra he had been driving on May 28, 2004 as it was pursued in Ashtonunder-lyne.
His car collided with Ford Transit police van before overturning and hitting a wall at the junction of Cotton Street East and Cavendish Street.
The chase followed reports of fight in progress outside an Ashton nightclub at about 1am, before the car driven by Keith set off with no lights on. The lights still were not on when the Vectra ploughed into the Transit
Ms Kearlsey heard that Keith was disqualified for dangerous driving and there was no record of his ever having passed a driving test. He had also been disqualified on a prior occasion.
Police turned up at
Keith’s home in Newham Avenue, Clayton at 3am to inform his parents of the accident. The accident left him with a severe brain injury, a permanent tracheostomy, where an opening is created at the front of the neck so a tube can be inserted into the windpipe (trachea) to help with breathing.
He was also dependent on liquid food and suffered epilepsy and asthma.
Keith was a long-term resident at Springfield Park Nursing Home, but in late 2018 and 2019 his condition began to deteriorate and he spent four periods at Fairfield, the final time from September 16 to 23.
Nurse Keeley Parker who conducted a review of Keith care at Fairfield said he should have been observed at least once an hour while in hospital, but she said he was only seen between one-and-ahalf and sometimes two hours.
“The correct level of observation training for staff has since taken place on a one-to-one basis,” she said. “They have been given an illness management policy document to sign, so it is clear they understand what is required.” Dr Saima Noman said Keith had ‘complex medical needs’. She said a meeting had taken place with Keith’s father, Derek, on September 18, saying: “I thought Keith was approaching the end of his life.”
A decision was taken to stop his nutrition before he was discharged back to the nursing home on September 23, because of the increasing risk of Kieth aspirating his food and not being able to breathe.
But further discussions did not take place with the family at the time.
Asked by the coroner whether she would have done anything differently, given the same circumstances again Dr Noman said: “I think I would improve communication, particularly when we are stopping nutrition.
“We needed to update the family before it was stopped.”
Derek told the inquest his son had been brought up in Clayton and was a keen footballer and had trials with Blackburn Rovers.
After leaving school he had worked at the Mark Addy pub in Salford before Derek encouraged Keith into demolition work.
“He took up boxing,” said Derek. “He was due to have his first fight in 2004, he had a girlfriend, and they were to go on holiday when the accident happened.”
He said his late wife Carol visited their son every day until she passed away in May, 2018.
“Keith was her baby,” he said. “She .kept on top of everything for him. She was a diamond.”
Ms Kearsley was told the cause of death was aspiration pneumonia and traumatic brain injury received in 2004.
THE INQUEST CONTINUES.
RETURNED to the beautifully refurbished Octagon Theatre, Bolton, to see ‘Home, I’m Darling’, the witty, satirical comedy by the talented Laura Wade.
First sight of the authentic fifties set did indeed invoke a feeling of nostalgia for those who remember that era, all the more so when Judy and Johnny appeared in their fabulous-fifties clothes, giving that impression of domestic perfection so often portrayed in early TV commercials.
Judy, however, actually didn’t live through that era and has an idealised notion of the time, viewed through rose-tinted spectacles.
Whilst she tries to live a totally fifties lifestyle, along with husband Johnny, in order to do so she must still embrace modern technology, the irony of which is lost on her!
The loss of a high powered and well-paid job has enabled Judy to turn her taste for retro into a lifestyle.
One which Johnny (a suave Tom Kanji) was only too happy to go along with, until blissful domesticity begins to unravel as expenses build up and finances dwindle.
Sandy Foster excellently portrays mounting nerviness and brittleness as she tries to maintain the façade, but, as her mother (played with acerbic wit by Susan Twist) points out, the truth of life in the fifties was a very different matter and “nostalgia isn’t what it used to be”.
Vicky Binns as Judy’s friend Fran delivers some brilliant throw-away lines, and husband Marcus (a louche Sam JenkinsShaw) reminds us what it was like in an era when predatory men like him could do exactly as they pleased!
Whilst the two of them enjoy the fifties vibe in music and clothes, they are well and truly living in the present.
In spite of some sadness, the play ends on a high and feelgood note, concluding another great evening out at the Octagon.
Mention must be given to the creative team for the imaginative and entertaining set changes, accompanied throughout by the music of the era.
Home, I’m Darling is on until Saturday, October 2. »
l» Monday, October 4 - Sunday, October 17, 2021
Going the Distance - Online
A brand-new comedy about a little theatre with a huge challenge. Once you have purchased your ticket you will receive a booking confirmation including your screening link. This link will be active on the date you have booked to view and will expire after 48 hours.
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