A hospital trust has apologised to two daughters who shared how Royal Preston Hospital ‘ruined’ their last memories of their father.
Ronald Sunners was taken to hospital on 8 January this year struggling to breath due to having COPD.
But daughters Rose and Stacie say that their pleas for hospital staff to treat their father in the same ‘brilliant’ way they had before fell on deaf ears.
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Ronald died in hospital on 10 January and Lancashire Teacher Hospitals has concluded an internal investigation into his death. Independent scrutiny will follow from Lancashire’s coroner at an as-yet undetermined date.
Rose said: “This usually wasn’t something we would all worry about as he had attended before in the same situation and had always been treated brilliantly, with good timing, steroids, the right care, and a speedy recovery.
“However, we did not know that on the 9th of January my dad would still be in A&E, begging for help. He was so scared, and knew nobody was listening or taking him seriously, that he phoned his daughter and told her to drive 200 miles to come and support her sister in trying to get him help.
“It was visibly obvious that my dad was extremely distressed and terrified. When I arrived at 4:30pm he was in a room closest to the nurses’ desk in A&E, breathless and barely able to talk. At his feet was a nebuliser, cracked, broken, and falling apart. Despite us telling staff several times that he could not breathe to use it properly, they insisted that this was all they could offer.
“He could not even stand to use the toilet and it took us asking seven times before they finally brought him a commode. Every time we asked for help, or something as simple as dignity for my dad, we were made to feel like we were an inconvenience to their shift.
“I cannot count the number of times my sister ran out of the room begging staff to help our dad. Eventually, we persuaded them to do a blood gas test. The result showed he was unwell, but we were told he was “not poorly enough for intervention.” They told us his CO₂ levels had to be even higher before they would help.
“All the while, my dad begged us over and over to ask them for help. With fear in his eyes, he told us repeatedly: “If they do not help me, I am going to die.” Just two hours later he collapsed. Only then was he rushed to resuscitation.”
Rose said that at this stage they felt her father was going to get the help he needed but that is got ‘even worse’
She said: “The staff had connected my Dad to a machine to help him breathe, but they used the wrong tubing. For at least 30 minutes he was breathing back his own carbon dioxide. During this time, his condition got worse. His CO₂ rose dangerously, from 9.8 to 14.2, yet this critical error was not even written in his notes. We later found out the hospital only reported it seven days later, after my dad had already died.
“My dad’s body was weak from trying to fight for hours being ignored and begging for help, and after this error in my opinion the sudden rise in CO₂ left my dad unable to fight any more and unable to recover. He was left on the NIV for around 10 hours – unresponsive for 9.5 before they finally told us that he was dying.
“What haunts me most is what happened when the machine was first put on. My dad kept trying to pull the mask off his face. We were told by staff to move his hands away and stop him because “the machine was going to help him.” But now I cannot stop wondering, was he trying to take it off because he actually could not breathe? Later, over a phone call, I was told that testing had been carried out on that very machine, and that the test showed “a person could not breathe” through it when it was set up wrongly. This leaves me with the unbearable thought that my dad knew it was hurting him, and we were told to stop him from fighting it.
“The hospital now admits this error happened, and that it contributed to his death. But they tried to soften the truth, writing that he may not have improved anyway because of his underlying illness. That is not accountability. That is an excuse.
“What hurts us even more is that the hospital’s report claims that before resus, Dad was “commenced on 1L oxygen via nasal cannula.” This is not true. As his family, we were present with him the entire time. He was never given oxygen in this way. To read something false in black and white in their official report has added to our pain.
“And when Dad’s final moments came, the lack of dignity was unforgivable. As he lay dying, surrounded by his family, two staff members walked into his bay and started a training session on a machine in the corner. They did not acknowledge my dad, did not speak to us, and carried on as if his life did not matter. Watching that as my dad took his final breaths is something that will haunt us forever.”
The family said that Lancashire Teaching Hospitals has accepted ‘moderate’ error in the treatment of Ronald Sunners.
Blog Preston approached the trust for their statement on what had happened, and asked specifically about claims that an incorrect time of death had been written on his notes and that the report included inaccurate details on how Ronald had been given oxygen.
They said they were unable to comment on specifics due to the prospect of an inquest.
A spokesperson for Lancashire Teaching Hospitals said: “We offer our sincere condolences to the family and friends of Ronald Sunners and unreservedly apologise for the experience in January. We also apologise for delays in communication which have caused additional distress.
“An internal investigation has now concluded and Mr Sunners’ family have been assigned an experienced colleague who has taken them through the findings of this and will keep in touch with the family to ensure any further questions and feedback can be meaningfully heard and responded to.
“We welcome the independent scrutiny of the Coroner and are fully committed to applying any learning identified from both the investigation and any future inquest.
“Feedback from patients and their families about the care and treatment they receive is important and we would always encourage patients or their families to contact our Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) to discuss any concerns they have, so that any issues can be resolved as soon as possible.”
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