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Son and daughter disgusted at treatment of their war veteran father

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The Telegraph newspaper has recently reported of a 95-year-old war veteran, who died at Queens Medical Centre, part of Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust.

Mr Riley, a former prisoner of war in Japan in WW2, fell from his bed during a stay at Queens Medical Centre, Nottingham and subsequently required urgent surgery for a broken hip. Sadly, Mr Riley died a few hours after he underwent the operation. A post-mortem stated that Mr Riley had died of pneumonia.

Mr Riley’s family are disgusted at the treatment he received whilst in hospital. Staff at the hospital claim that Mr Riley was trying to climb out of bed when he fell although his family report that he was “so weak he couldn’t even move his arms”.

The fall occurred during Mr Riley’s second admission to the hospital. Mr Riley’s son told The Telegraph that Mr Riley was admitted to the hospital in April due to fluid on his lungs. Mr Riley developed an eye infection whilst in hospital and was discharged despite complaining of eye pain. Mr Riley was readmitted after a few days following a visit from his GP.

Mr Riley’s son and daughter also reported how they had to cover their father in blankets to keep him warm during his hospital admission.

Mr Riley’s family have made a formal complaint to the Trust. A separate report found that the death was unconnected to the injuries resulting from the fall.

The medical director of Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust gave their condolences to Mr Riley’s family and stated that Mr Riley was identified as being at risk of falls and that action was taken to prevent Mr Riley from falling out of bed. The Trust’s Chief Executive, Peter Homa said that the additional complaints the family had raised would also be fully investigated.

By Alex Gill

 

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