The harrowing reality of a hospital communication breakdown unfolded as staff at Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth left a family to unknowingly spend ten minutes at the bedside of their deceased loved one. Karen Dobbins, along with her two children, believed her partner, Andrew Dale, 62, was still alive as she stroked his hand, noting it felt ‘still warm’. Tragically, as an inquest later revealed, Mr. Dale had passed away an hour prior.
The family’s distressing discovery came ten minutes into what they thought was a bedside vigil. Two nurses entered the ward, and under the mistaken assumption that the family had already been informed of the keen cyclist’s death, delivered the devastating news. The inquest detailed that Mr. Dale had suffered a fatal internal bleed following a fall from his bed during the night.
Hospital officials have since issued an ‘unreserved’ apology for the grievous error and expressed their “sincere condolences” to the bereaved family.
A tearful Ms. Dobbins, 58, recounted the heart-wrenching moments at the inquest: “We thought he was still alive. His hands were warm.” Describing the scene, she added, “We were talking to him thinking he was alive even though there were no monitors on the wall.”
The unimaginable situation continued for ten minutes until the nurses arrived. “Then two nurses came in and started talking about what happened during the night and that he went for a CT scan,” Ms. Dobbins explained. “I asked them ‘what happens now?’ because they didn’t actually say anything. Then they said he has passed away.” The shock and disbelief were palpable as Ms. Dobbins recalled, “They were stunned that I had asked that question. I was in shock. I had no idea. I just cried.”
Andrew Dale had been admitted to Queen Alexandra Hospital on January 5, 2017, battling a rare auto-immune disease that progressively weakened his muscles. After 19 days in the hospital, the retired groundsman from Fareham, Hampshire, suffered a fall beside his bed.
While medics treated him for a head injury, a critical oversight occurred: they failed to recognize that Mr. Dale had also ruptured his spleen in the fall. This internal bleeding, tragically undetected, led to a fatal heart attack just over four hours later. The inquest revealed that prompt diagnosis of the internal bleed should have led to the cessation of clexane, an anticoagulant medication Mr. Dale was taking.
Ms. Dobbins explained that when she and her family were called to the hospital on the morning of January 24, they were completely unaware of the devastating truth of her partner’s passing. A critical breakdown in hospital communication led staff to believe the family had already been informed of the tragic news.
During the two-day hearing at Portsmouth Coroner’s Court, Ms. Dobbins recounted stroking her long-term partner’s hand and speaking to him, in the heartbreaking belief he was merely in a coma. This distressing error was one of several shortcomings at the hospital brought to light during the court hearing, prompting a serious investigation by Queen Alexandra Hospital.
Pathologist Dr. Adnan Al-Badri, who conducted the post-mortem examination, expressed his shock at finding a tear in the spleen – an injury typically associated with high-impact trauma. He stated that while a sepsis diagnosis might have been considered, “I have never seen someone have a ruptured spleen from a fall. That would have been at the bottom of my diagnostic list.” He confirmed the cause of death as an inter-abdominal hemorrhage due to a ruptured spleen resulting from abdominal trauma.
Coroner Lincoln Brookes recorded a narrative verdict, stating, “Such an injury is rarely seen from this type of fall and Mr. Dale initially had no obvious pain that medics would normally expect from such a condition.” He added, “The blood results gave cause to consider this diagnosis but this did not happen. Nor was the case escalated in accordance with the hospital’s policy. Had this occurred there may have been a very small chance of preventing the death through the critical care/surgical teams.”
Dr. John Knighton, medical director at Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust, responsible for Queen Alexandra Hospital, affirmed that significant improvements have been implemented since Mr. Dale’s death in January 2017. “I unreservedly apologize to the family and friends of Mr. Dale and send my sincere condolences,” he stated.
Dr. Mark Rowland, who led the investigation into Mr. Dale’s death, attributed the communication breakdown to confusion during staff handover, suggesting that day shift staff assumed the night shift had already informed the family. This tragic case underscores the critical importance of clear communication and accurate diagnosis within hospital settings to prevent such devastating errors and protect grieving families from further anguish.
