Judgepaystributetoex-Shoahrefugee whosesonwasvictimofNHSblunder

A FORMER caretaker who collapsed with a brain haemorrhage just a day after being sent home from hospital has won a £330,000 payout from the NHS.

Geoffrey Solomon, 60, who was left with brain damage and sight problems, claimed he should have had a CT scan before being discharged from the Northwick Park Hospital in northwest London.

His barrister, Christopher Johnston QC, told the High Court that Mr Solomon,from Harrow, north-west London, had been born with cognitive and learning difficulties and had problems walking.

Despite his condition, he had worked most of his life, including as a janitor at RAF Stanmore. But he has always lived at home and been cared for by his mother, Heldi Solomon, 87.

Mrs Solomon fled the Nazis and took refuge in the UK during the Second World War.

In June 2010 Mr Solomon was suffering from headaches and became so “unwell” that an ambulance was called and took him to Northwick Park Hospital.

A junior doctor noted the possibility of a bleed in the brain, which a scan would have identified, Mr Johnston told the court, “but unfortunately that CT scan never took place”.

Mr Solomon was sent home on June 10, collapsed the following day and was again rushed to hospital by ambulance.

This time, a CT scan revealed a dev- astating brain haemorrhage.

He was left with “permanent brain damage, cognitive problems and restrictions in his field of vision”, the court heard.

North West London Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, disputed liability but on Monday it agreed to a settlement of Mr Solomon’s case.

Judge Karen Walden-Smith said she had “no hesitation” in approving the agreed £330,000 payout.

She went on to praise Mrs Solomon, describing her as an “extraordinary woman” and a “remarkable person of extreme fortitude” who must be “greatly applauded”.

Mr Johnston said Mrs Solomon had made an “incredible contribution” to the whole of her son’s life, not just since the medical accident.