A GP has apologised for wrongly prescribing antibiotics to an 86-year-old man who was allergic to the drug, despite warnings on his written medical notes.

An inquest heard yesterday that the elderly man suffered severe liver damage after taking the antibiotics, and became "deeply jaundiced".

Computer records at his GP's practice had failed to show that Bernard Lloyd-Lawrence, of Greenfield Gardens in Barton-on-Sea, was allergic to the drug, although his written notes had a prominent warning.

He later died on June 15 in Royal Bournemouth Hospital after contracting an infection following a medical procedure to check what was wrong with him.

Bournemouth Coroner's Court was told that some weeks earlier Mr Lloyd-Lawrence had gone to New Milton Health Centre, complaining of an infected cut on his leg.

The practice's medical staff said he had denied being allergic to any antibiotics, and after checking his computer records, he had been prescribed with a week's dose of Flucloxacillin.

But his separate written medical notes warned he should not be given the drug.

Mr Lloyd-Lawrence had been hospitalised for a week after taking the same antibiotic in 1997, and had taken months to recover from the resulting liver damage.

His GP, Dr Paul Campbell, told the court the practice had been in the middle of transferring over written records onto their computerised system, and the warning hadn't appeared on Mr Lloyd-Lawrence's computer notes.

He said: "There was a very severe reaction in 1997 and there should have been a warning.

"I can only apologise to the family that it wasn't there.

"Our system did not protect Mr Lloyd-Lawrence and I am sorry for that."

A new system is in place at the health centre which points out any known allergic reactions clearly on the computer, the inquest heard.

After taking the course of antibiotics, Mr Lloyd-Lawrence became deeply jaundiced and was eventually admitted to Royal Bournemouth Hospital.

Here, consultants decided to check he had no other problems with his gall bladder or bile duct, which could cause similar symptoms.

No blockages were found, but after the endoscopic investigation, the elderly patient developed a severe infection of the pancreas - a known risk of the procedure - and died two weeks later.

A pathologist later gave the main cause of death as acute pancreatitis, but confirmed that Mr Lloyd-Lawrence's earlier symptoms were caused by the reaction to the antibiotic treatment.

Giving his verdict on the case, coroner Mr Sheriff Payne said his death was the result of a "recognised complication of a procedure that was believed to be clinically necessary during the investigation of his symptoms of jaundice".

First published: Oct 6