Tragedy as son dies after being found on the floor next to his dead father
Tragedy as son dies after being found on the floor next to his dead father
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A man tragically died after he was found by his sister lying on the floor next to his father's dead body, an inquest heard. David Lodge lived with his father Peter Lodge, who had died up to four days prior. David was found physically weak, but still alive next to his father, and was rushed to Hull Royal Infirmary that afternoon at 4:30pm. The 40-year-old was living with a dysarthria - a condition that meant he could not speak using words, as well as the co-ordination disorder dyspraxia.
He was also registered blind in adulthood, had been diagnosed with autism and used a wheelchair after a prolonged period in intensive care for pneumonia in 2017 left him unable to stand. Since he had spent several days on the floor next to his father, David desperately needed fluids and rewarming.
The consultant was aware that he had a history of pneumonia, and other risk factors. David also found medical settings distressing, which meant he needed to be sedated for a full hospital examination to take place. At 6.25pm, he was given 10mg midazolam, but nothing further was done until 9pm when his observations were taken. This showed a score of nine, which is in the emergency category.
When the consultant arrived to take his bloods and administer fluids, he did not complete a chest exam and did not touch David at all after this point. At 1am on January 13, David was transferred to the Acute Admissions Unit (AAU) where his final observations at 12.48am, showed a NEWS score of eight, indicating he was in an extremely serious condition.
