Patient died in fall despite warning, coroner told

Hospital staff were warned several times that a patient was unsteady before he fell and suffered a catastrophic brain injury, an inquest heard.

Gregory Dervin, 35, died a week after hitting his head on a blood pressure machine in the accident at Broomfield Hospital on 3 May 2024.

His parents have said they begged nurses to keep a close eye on him after his one-to-one care had been removed.

A security guard employed to watch Dervin told Essex Coroner's Court that staff were aware he had been falling regularly prior to his death.

Dervin, who was a father and keen football fan, was being treated for a heart issue brought on by what his family branded "mismanagement" of his Crohn's disease.

He was transferred from a London hospital to Broomfield on 23 April 2024 and had been on track to be discharged after almost 500 days of treatment.

Dervin had been sedated for an MRI scan and was recovering in his bed in the hours before his fatal fall.

Olufemi Oyedeji, the security guard who was watching the patient, said Dervin had been "agitated" since the scan and "unsteady on his feet".

"I told [the nurses] that he's been falling back and they said they were aware of it," Oyedeji told the inquest in Chelmsford.

"When he makes an attempt to stand up, many, 99% of the time, he falls backwards."

Oyedeji was not permitted to sit in the room with Dervin, instead watching him through glass.

He described how in the early evening he witnessed the patient manage to get to his feet, before falling and striking his head on the base of a blood pressure machine.

"He had been alone in the room for about five minutes when the accident happened," Oyedeji added.

"A cleaner rushed into the room, pressed the alarm bell and everyone rushed in."

The inquest was told Dervin suffered a catastrophic blow to the back of his head and was taken to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge for advanced treatment, but died on 10 May 2024.

A statement was read to the court on behalf of Dervin's partner, who said: "Greg's condition had been stable in the lead-up to him being transferred to Broomfield."

She said it "took him a while" to move along a bed and "anyone watching him would have time to intervene".

The nurse who was in charge of Dervin is due to give evidence on Thursday and the inquest continues.

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