Saturday June 11, 2011 at 3:28pm
A coroner told an inquest that it was undeniable a patient‘s death was wholly preventable.
Mr. Thompson, 41, from Gorton, a voluntary inpatient at the Adale House Unit of Manchester Royal Infirmary was stopped from entering his ward last year.
He had turned up on the 3rd April last year at 7.45pm with a bottle of vodka and refused to hand it over. He fell asleep in the corridor at 8.10pm after hospital staff let him “sleep off” the effects of alcohol.
Not long before he fell asleep, Peter Thompson collapsed and died. He was pronounced dead at 6.45am the following day, more than 10 hours after he arrived at the hospital.
CCTV captured Mr Thompson’s last hours in the corridor as staff at the Unit were seen pulling his body along the floor as though they were “dragging the body of a dead animal.”
His father Alan Thompson, 71, a retired production worker, said: “seeing your own flesh and blood being dragged across the floor like a dead animal is heartbreaking.
“I can never, ever forgive these people for what little they did… I feel as if people will be awakened by what the verdict was and hopefully it will do a bit of good for other families who go through what we have been through.”
Mr Thompson died from a cocktail of alcohol and anti-psychotic drugs. He was four times above the drink-drive limit.
The jury at Manchester Crown court returned a misadventure verdict. The Coroner, Nigel Meadows, said: It seems to me undeniable that the jury came to a conclusion the death was wholly preventable.”
A spokesman for Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust said: “This was an isolated incident and does not reflect the high levels of care and dignity with which we treat our service users. We are very sorry.”
Nadia Kerr, the solicitor who represented the family said: “This is a shocking indictment on the care standards provided by the Manchester Mental health and Social Care Trust.
“We have now agreed compensation for Mr Thompson’s family, but no amount of money can ever compensate them for their loss.”