A man with Down’s Syndrome passed away after medical staff left him without food for 20 days.
Joe Ulleri died in a hospital bed after confusion over his feeding tube left him starving at Manchester Royal Infirmary.
The 61-year-old suffered a fall at home and after being discharged from A&E, he was re-admitted as his condition became worse. It was then found he had fractures to his neck, wrist, and pelvis.
His relatives said he was denied food for 20 days due to miscommunication between staff. Joe also developed fetal pneumonia during his stay in the hospital.
Manchester City Coroner’s Court heard that Joe was found in a pool of blood on the floor of his bedroom. He was rushed to hospital and had an X-ray on his ankle but he was sent home after doctors found no fractures.
The next day, he was struggling to put weight on one of his legs, so he was brought back to MRI.
Acting area coroner for Manchester City Angharad Davies said Joe developed difficulty swallowing. After he was admitted again to the hospital, tests discovered he had broken his hip and wrist.
“Whilst in hospital Joe was looked after by a range of different staff, from nurses, to speech specialists to dieticians,” the coroner added.
“A naso-gastric feeding tube was fitted, but that proved problematic and it was only in place for 24 hours.
“After that Joe had a long period of time when he had no nutritional support, the only support was during that 24 hours when the tube was in place.”
Joe passed away on March 20 while medics were still thinking of the best way to feed him.
His brother, Giovanni Ulleri, spoke about Joe’s treatment after his unexplained fall and said: “We have major concerns about the quality of care he received at Manchester Royal Infirmary.”
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