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Leukaemia Patient's Life Support Withdrawn Prematurely
20 Dec
Summary
- A 41-year-old man died after life support was withdrawn.
- Other doctors were not consulted on the critical decision.
- The inquest found a failure in multi-disciplinary involvement.
A recent inquest has revealed a tragic case where a 41-year-old man suffering from leukaemia died after his life support was withdrawn prematurely. The senior coroner presiding over the case, David Heming, noted that crucially, other medical professionals at Peterborough City Hospital were not consulted prior to the decision.
This unfortunate event, which occurred in 2016, was heard alongside inquests for three other patients: John Hunt, Ashley Gogerly, and Robert Mackay. All had been under the care of Dr Andrew Gregg, who had previously described his palliative care training in an "apprentice-style" manner.
Delivering his findings, Mr. Heming concluded that there was a significant "failure of multi-disciplinary involvement" in the care leading to two of the patient deaths. This points to systemic issues in patient care coordination at the hospital.
