Widow’s fury over death after ‘9-hour A&E wait’
THE widow of a former Daily Express photographer has slammed hospital bosses, saying he died while waiting nine hours for life-saving treatment.
Marthe Gomer says husband Barry’s death was avoidable and wants to know why he was not given a vital drug when diagnosed with a blood clot.
Barry, who worked on newspapers for 50 years including 28 at the Daily Express, was taken to Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital A&E last month after he had difficulty breathing.
He was given a blood-thinning tablet and told he needed to be put on Heparin via an intravenous drip as quickly as possible, his wife says.
She adds that Barry, 71, was never given Heparin.
Nine hours later, she says he collapsed and died while sitting in A&E. Marthe said: “The consultant told me that the medicine Barry needed was, for some reason, not available in A&E.
Collapsed
“Who knows – if he’d been given it nine hours earlier, the clot which killed him may have been reduced or dissolved.”
Marthe, 68, of Hatherleigh, Devon, says she has since been told by a medical expert thatBarry, who died on January 25, should have been put on a Heparin intravenous drip as soon as a clot was diagnosed.
She said: “There was no reason why he should not have been hooked up to an IV immediately.
“Barry sat there patiently, waiting his turn. They didn’t even feed him.
“At around 9pm, he asked a nurse if he could get something to eat as he’d not eaten all day.
As he stood up, he then collapsed and died. I became more and more convinced that a nine-hour wait points to an avoidable death.”
A spokesman for the hospital said: “We are deeply saddened by the death of Mr Gomer and extend our unreserved condolences to Mrs Gomer for her loss.
“We are in the process of completing a detailed investigation into the care Mr Gomer received.”