Death of hospital patient in fall ruled as neglect

The death of a vulnerable hospital patient who fell while alone in his room amounted to neglect, a coroner has ruled.

Greg Dervin, 35, died a week after hitting his head in the fall at Broomfield Hospital near Chelmsford in May 2024, Essex Coroner's Court heard.

The inquest was told his father had pleaded with nurses to not leave him alone while he got lunch, but returned to find his son had sustained a traumatic brain injury.

The Mid & South Essex NHS Foundation Trust said it accepted Dervin was not "adequately supervised" when he fell.

Dervin, from Roxwell, was being treated for a heart issue brought on by what his family branded "mismanagement" of his Crohn's disease.

He was about to be discharged after nearly 500 days in hospital when he had the fall.

Area coroner Sonia Hayes said: "Greg was a young man with a family who had hopes for rehabilitation and had made some inroads."

Dervin, a "clever boy who excelled at school", had been treated at a hospital in London before arriving at Broomfield in April 2024.

Shortly after the transfer, staff removed his two-to-one care - a decision his parents begged them not to do.

In the days that followed, a security guard previously told the inquest that he witnessed "unstable" Dervin fall several times on to his bed.

Clinical reports read to the court also suggested the Arsenal fan would become unsteady when he took lorazepam, yet he was unsupervised after it was given to him on the day of his fall.

The structural engineer tumbled alone again on 3 May 2024 and suffered a catastrophic blow when he struck his head on medical equipment.

He was taken to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge for advanced treatment, but died on 10 May 2024.

Hayes said if Dervin still had a designated nurse "he would not have fallen when he did and he would not have died like he did".

She said removal of this care was a "gross failure" that amounted to neglect.

The coroner had previously accused the hospital trust of intentionally withholding vital reports from her, saying she was "shocked and disappointed".

She said other hospital staff had listened to the inquest knowing those reports were available, but had failed to raise this.

"It is inexplicable why the trust didn't get its act together," Hayes said.

Briony Ballard, representing the trust, said it was accepted "there has been a failure" to provide evidence.

However, she insisted to the coroner: "There has been no evidence of any intention to withhold evidence from you."

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