Father-of-three not told of aneurysm before death

A father-of-three died of a brain haemorrhage following failings at the hospital where he worked, health bosses have admitted.

A scan at the Queen Elizabeth (QE) Hospital in Birmingham, three months before his death, showed Craig Green had a brain aneurysm but neither he nor his GP were told.

"What's very hard to understand is that, if he knew, he could've put things in place. He could've spoken to his family," his father, Dennis Green, said.

A spokesperson for the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust said there were failures in communication by their staff over Craig Green's case. The Department of Health said the failure was unacceptable.

"This should not have happened and we are truly sorry for the pain and distress this has caused," they added.

Craig Green was a father to three sons and his partner, Lesley, also works at the QE as a healthcare assistant.

The couple would work opposite day and night shifts in order to look after their boys.

"I am now facing life as a single mother-of-three, something I never expected and never prepared for," she said.

"I have never known adult life without Craig by my side."

Craig Green, 39 was a catering assistant who worked at the QE and was referred by his GP to the hospital following hearing loss.

He attended an ear, nose and throat emergency clinic on the 1 April 2025.

An MRI scan was later carried out and doctors found an aneurysm in one of the arteries to his brain, which was flagged as a high priority to be reviewed by the neurovascular team at the trust.

However, the referral was never finished and neither Craig Green nor his GP were made aware of the findings.

Brain aneurysm are caused by a swelling in a blood vessel in the brain and can cause a bleed on the brain if they burst, according to the NHS.

"Craig was walking round for three months with a ticking time bomb in his head. He could've gone in five minutes, he could've lasted 10 years, nobody knew," Dennis Green said.

In July, he said his son collapsed at his home in West Heath in front of his partner of 20 years and their children and was rushed to the QE.

"The doctor treating him on the night came in and said, 'Craig's aneurysm's burst' and we all went, 'what aneurysm?'. Every single person in there looked shocked", Dennis Green said.

A letter sent from the QE to Craig Green's family in the days after his death, stated that, while the hearing loss was unrelated, "the aneurysm was ultimately the underlying cause of the severe brain haemorrhage that Mr Green subsequently suffered".

On the record of inquest, it was concluded that Craig Green had died of natural causes and noted that "a post-incident NHS investigation concluded that the failure to refer [him] appropriately did not contribute to his death".

"It may not have contributed to his death but he had a right to know," Craig Green's sister Sarah said.

" [We] just feel let down by people we should trust.

"We go to the doctors with our health and we think we can trust them and obviously we've been let down and Craig's been let down."

A QE spokesperson said the NHS trust had invited Craig Green's family to meet with the hospital and clinical leadership.

"Craig was a much‑loved colleague and his loss has been felt deeply by everyone who knew him," they said.

"We are taking action to ensure important scan findings are clearly communicated to patients and GPs and to strengthen handovers and referral processes between clinical teams, so that lessons are learned and the risk of this happening again is reduced."

The family has written to Health Secretary Wes Streeting to demand answers.

"I'd like him to investigate the failings of the hospital; the communication is a big must," Craig Green's sister said.

The Department of Health spokesperson said "communications failures like this are unacceptable".

"This government is determined to make sure the NHS is the safest in the world and we have already taken rapid action to strengthen patient safety.

"Overhauling the Care Quality Commission, rolling out Martha's Rule and Jess's Rule across all acute hospitals in England, and introducing hospital league tables to drive improvement," they added.

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