The Inquest of Mr. Charles Trollope
24/09/2003
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An Inquest at Chester Coroners Court today heard the harrowing account of the death of Charles Edward Anthony Trollope. Charles, or Tony as his friends knew him, was by all accounts a healthy and active 78-year-old when he was referred to the Countess of Chester Hospital for a hip replacement. He contracted an infection whilst in hospital and 12months later he died from Septicaemia. Following the initial hip related operations in February 2001, Mr Trollope's family recall how he was writhing in agony and how his wound was seeping blood and pus. His Son Peter later recalls that throughout his fathers hospital stay, "the level of nursing care was at times extraordinarily bad. My father's wound dressing following these initial operations was left unattended, we found him lying in a pool of pus mixed with blood which had seeped from his wound and spilled over from the bed. It then dripped down onto the floor where it lay in a congealing mess. This was to become a frequent problem, we complained about the lack of attention to the wound and to my father on many, many occasions." Mr Trollope was moved from a ward into a private room to be barrier nursed so as to try and prevent the spread of the infection and to allow him to recover without any further risk of infection. Mr Trollope's son Peter recalls how this private room was 'filthy.' "There was thick dust and debris under the bed and sticky blood and other stains on the floor. There was a pubic hair in the sink. All this in a hospital held up by some as a flagship for the NHS." In addition Peter remembers that the barrier nursing was 'hopeless.' "Some people entered the room in protective gloves and aprons but others did not. There appeared to be no coordinated system." Mr Trollope was discharged from hospital in May 2001, still in severe pain, which he was told was down to the physiotherapy on the muscles surrounding the hip area. This pain did not disappear. His GP referred him back to the Countess of Chester Hospital where he was told there was no evidence of infection from a scan that had been carried out and that he simply required more physiotherapy. He was again discharged home and continued to be in pain and unwell. He lost a considerable amount of weight. Again his GP had become so concerned that in September he sent Mr Trollope back to the hospital for some more tests where this time it was conceded that there might be an infection and a biopsy was required within the next few weeks to determine the type of infection and to then treat it with appropriate antibiotics. However the biopsy was not carried out until the 19th December 2001, three months later, by which time Mr Trollope's condition had deteriorated still further. On the 28th December 2001 his Son recalls how his leg quite literally exploded there was pus all over the walls and the carpet. He was admitted to hospital with a chronic right hip infection. Despite his records showing an MRSA type infection he was not barrier nursed. Mr Trollope was sent home with antibiotics. The severity of the infection was not expressed to his family and they had no idea how serious things were. At home his leg again started to swell and an x-ray showed that his hip joint was out of its socket. In intense pain and with a very low blood pressure he was admitted to the Countess of Chester Hospital and he was this time put in a private room with full barrier nursing which sadly again appeared to be intermittent at best. The family pressed for his Consultant to come but he couldn't see him until late the next day, by this time Mr Trollope had become incoherent and had started to ramble. The Consultant decided to operate the next day to remove the hip. On arriving at the hospital the following day the family saw what they describe as one of the saddest sights they have ever seen. Peter recalled how "the level of nursing care always seemed stretched - there is the most appalling example of this, which remains scarred in my mind. My father was desperately ill, so much so that I had to go and sign a consent form for an emergency operation because he was rambling and incoherent. The operation was to take place in the afternoon - I arrived after 12 noon to find my father had cornflakes smeared around his mouth, there were cornflakes in his mouth covering his tongue, he had jam on his face, and his hands, there were bits of toast on his pyjamas and on the floor. His false teeth were jammed in a bowl of compote; this had splashed on to him. There was a spoon on the floor, and milk spilled across his tray. He was supposed to be NIL BY MOUTH - but the nursing staff had forgotten to put a Nil By Mouth sign up. This meant he had been given food which compromised the operation - this shows the lack of appreciation by nursing staff of what actually is happening on their ward - but more than that it meant nobody could have checked on his condition since breakfast had been served on the ward. It was a pitiful sight to have as one of the last memories of my father. Nursing staff were at a loss to account for how this had happened. A Nil By Mouth sign was eventually put up in his room after this incident but the operation was postponed until the next day. " The operation was performed although the family had been told by medical staff that Mr Trollope had become so overwhelmed by the infection that he was probably too weak to withstand the operation and may not survive. The hip was removed and the family were told it was a 'real mess, badly infected and was obviously the source of a major infection.' "They had been amazed that Dad had been able to fight it for so long." Sadly following the operation and despite putting up a courageous fight, Mr Trollope suffered multi-organ failure as a result of septicaemia. Speaking on behalf of Mr. Peter Trollope his Solicitor Lesley Herbertson, Clinical Negligence Partner at leading health specialist firm Alexander Harris, Peter Trollope today said: "My father's case offers a horrific, extraordinary and chilling insight into the workings and failings of the NHS. In particular it reveals the reality of the inner workings of a hospital, which is rated by the Government as being one of the best in the country." Lesley Herbertson added: "This case is one of the worst I have ever seen and shows that Mr Trollope experienced an appalling lack of cleanliness and poor hygiene during his hospital stay. The family were told that there was a prevalence of MRSA in the hospital by a number of medical practitioners who attended on their father, yet there was no warning given that the hospital had an MRSA problem." Peter added that: "I witnessed a complete lack of implementation of barrier nursing techniques. Although my father was placed in isolation there were daily incidents where the hospitals own protocols were breached. Nurses, cleaners, auxiliary staff, doctors who were not wearing protective clothing, gloves or masks. This must increase the high risk of transmitting the MRSA bacteria throughout the hospital." Lesley Herbertson was also concerned when hearing from the family that not until several weeks after the initial MRSA infection had been recognised did the hospital realise Mr Trollope should have had a tissue viability nurse managing the treatment of his wound. "Her job brief is specifically to deal with cases such as this. Peter told me how she had commented that she was 'appalled and very, very angry' that she had not been brought in."
"What is important is that lessons are now learnt from this tragic sequence of events."
On the 24th September 2003 the Coroner recorded a verdict of death due to complications to replace an infected hip prosthesis.
This morning (25th September 2003) The Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Trust have accepted that on occasion certain aspects of Mr. Trollope's care fell below acceptable standards and that they apologise most sincerely to his family for the distress this has caused them.
Notes: The inquest took place on the 24th September 2003 at 1pm at Chester Coroners Court, Trident House, Little St John Street, Chester. It will be heard by Deputy Coroner Dr Janet Napier. The Solicitor representing Mr Peter Trollope, son of the deceased Mr Charles Trollope, is Lesley Herbertson, Partner and Head of Clinical Negligence at specialist health law firm Alexander Harris. Alexander Harris were shocked at the nature of this case and as such decided to pursue it pro-bono - ie without any payment being made to themselves. The advocacy at the inquest on behalf of the family is being presented by Jeremy Roussack of St Johns Buildings, Manchester. Alexander Harris specialise exclusively in health law for members of the public and are regarded nationally as leaders in their field. They have offices in the North West, Central London and the West Midlands with over 160 staff. Further information can be found at www.alexanderharris.co.uk The family of Charles Trollope have provided an exclusive one-off interview to a Daily Newspaper and have subsequently asked not to be personally contacted by any media organisation. They hope that the information required to assist the media is contained in the statement above. They are happy for Alexander Harris Solicitors to speak on their behalf in order to confirm any details or queries that may arise as a result of the information above or the outcome of the inquest. There will at this time be no further statements issued. A downloadable JPEG photograph of Mr Trollope along with this statement can be found on Alexander Harris' website at www.alexanderharris.co.uk For further information or interviews with Lesley Herbertson please contact the public relations team at Alexander Harris on 0161 925 5576 / 925 5527. Biographical details for use:- CHARLES EDWARD ANTHONY TROLLOPE Tony Trollope - as most people knew him - was born in Leicester on November 28th 1922. He died on February 9th 2002 at the Countess of Chester Hospital. He left school when he was fourteen to support his family. He had a younger brother and two younger sisters. He is survived by his two sisters, Beryl and Jean. He married his wife Beryl, an infant school teacher, in August 1950 - they were married for more than fifty years. His wife died nine months after he did in December 2002. They are survived by their only child Peter Alan Trollope. Peter is a journalist and Current Affairs Producer for BBC Television based in Manchester. Mr Trollope had a spectacular military career during the Second World War, where he was part of 'The Forgotten Army' fighting the Japanese in Burma. He enlisted as a Private and because of his outstanding leadership qualities rose rapidly through the ranks to become a Captain during the war. He specialised in Jungle Warfare training techniques and was involved in direct front line combat with the Japanese. After the war he embarked on a successful career in selling office equipment, becoming a Regional and Divisional Manager and member of the Institute of Marketing.
He was an extraordinary man who made it his life's cause to help others and was a devoted husband, father and grandfather.
The photographs below show Charles firstly before his hip operation celebrating his 50th Wedding Anniversary and secondly after his hip operation when he had lost 5 stone in weight.
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