A MAN with Down’s Syndrome and dementia died in hospital after not being fed for nine days.

The 56-year-old was admitted to Poole hospital with a hip fracture after falling over at a Bournemouth care home, where he had been receiving care.

On admittance, he was taken to the trauma and orthopaedics ward, where he was listed as ‘nil by mouth’, as he had trouble swallowing.

Nine days later, he died of pneumonia after a ‘series of errors’ at the hospital.

Now, the man’s father has been given £22,500 in compensation, after an incident investigation at the hospital.

Allegations made against the hospital included a failure to feed the patient for nine days, causing ‘his subsequent severe deterioration and death’.

The hospital failed to adequately monitor and investigate his condition, while failing to provide senior doctors, it was alleged.

This left unsupervised junior doctors who did not have access to senior staff or any way to escalate their concerns, allegations said.

This, it was claimed, was not done when the patient was still nil by mouth after nine days, despite the fact he was suffering from pneumonia.

It was also alleged that there was a failure to provide adequate training to hospital admissions teams to ensure patients with a disability and educational needs receive the correct treatment and appropriate care.

Dieticians and speech and language therapists were also not contacted to escalate concerns, it was claimed.

Other allegations included failures in communication, a failure to advise consultants of the deterioration of his condition, a failure to heed attempts by nurses to escalate care and a failure to provide any plan for the patient, given his disability and the deterioration of his condition.

Following the patient’s death, an investigation was carried out by a consultant geriatrician, with a report signed off just over five months after he died.

Six months later, the NHS Litigation Authority, NHS Resolution, admitted there had been a failure to provide adequate care.

The authority said, ‘on balance of probability, the admitted breach of duty caused a deterioration’ in the patient’s condition ‘and he would not have died when he did’.

It apologised for the "substandard" care the patient had received.

It added that the trust had ‘learned from this very sad incident’ and had put steps in place to ensure that it does not happen again.

The care home where the patient was receiving care did not admit liability and settled without prejudice.

In total, the compensation settlements were £22,500, with £15,000 from the hospital and £7,500 from the care home.

Siobhan Harrington, chief executive officer at University Hospitals Dorset, said: “We offer our sincere condolences once again to the family and have apologised for the failings that resulted in his death.

“At the time, we undertook a serious incident investigation to identify any learning points.

“We have implemented a number of changes following this and have shared these with the family.”

The patient’s father was represented by Coles Miller solicitors.

Managing partner and head of the personal injury department, Adrian Cormack, said: “This was a shocking case. It was mismanagement by the hospital.

“In NHS terms, it was a ‘never event’ – clinical negligence that should never have happened.

“Sadly, the damages for statutory bereavement are limited by law to just £15,120. This is wholly inadequate for bereaved families who have lost loved ones.

“We strongly support the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) in its campaign for a change in the law.”