'Unforgivable': Telford granddad died on hospital trolley deprived of oxygen as daughter witnessed 'final gasps'
A grandfather who was deprived of oxygen by hospital staff died on a trolley after waiting 18 hours while his daughter watched his “final gasps” for air.
The death of retired welder Graham John Millward was “more likely than not” sped up by a lack of oxygen therapy, and he had the chance of a “dignified passing" taken away from him, according to his family.
An inquest into Mr Millward’s death was held this week at Shropshire Coroner’s Court, Guildhall, Shrewsbury.
The hearing was told that Mr Millward was 87, lived at a nursing home in Wellington, and had a number of medical conditions including pneumonia.
He had been “in and out” of Princess Royal Hospital in Telford and his family expected he was nearing the end of his life.
They were expecting him to return home when he was admitted on January 9 this year, and had made plans to be at his bedside when the time came. But his death was “hastened” due to the failure to provide oxygen, meaning they were “robbed” of the chance to say their goodbyes.
Mr Millward was initially given oxygen, before it was taken away.
His daughter Paula said her father was in the ambulance receiving area for 18 hours before “dying on a hospital trolley” surrounded by “chaos”.
“This he did not deserve,” she said, adding that the distress caused by the hospital’s actions was “unforgivable”.
“He was deprived of a dignified passing,” she said, adding that she watched him take his “final gasps”.
A statement from a doctor at the hospital was read to the coroner's court. He said there was a failure to deliver oxygen therapy when it should have been given, and that it was “more likely than not” the error would have caused Mr Millward “distress” and “hastened his passing”.
John Ellery, senior coroner for Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, recorded a narrative conclusion that Mr Millward’s death was of natural causes, hastened with additional distress.
After the hearing, Paula told the Shropshire Star: “My sister and his granddaughter who live away were robbed of the time to get to him.
“When we knew as a family he was going to pass away, we planned to all be there with him.
“He was a lovely family man,” she said, adding that he spent all his working life at GKN Sankey and enjoyed a pint at his favourite pub, The Old Fighting Cocks in Oakengates.
“He had been poorly and he had been in and out of hospital but we fully expected him to be coming home this time.”
Dr John Jones, medical director at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals Trust, said: “We would like to offer our deepest condolences to the family of Mr Millward and apologise for the care he received.
“We are committed to providing the best possible care and we are taking action to address the findings of a full internal investigation, including a review of the staff training for the transfer of patients receiving bottled oxygen.”
“Our Trust will also act on any further actions recommended by the coroner.”
