The family of a man who died from neglect by medical professionals at the Countess of Chester Hospital is suing the Trust for his death.

Wayne Lammond, 36, died after his brain was starved of oxygen following a cardiac arrest, but an inquest jury heard that medical staff at the hospital failed to carry out a series of vital medical checks and actions that could have saved his life. A jury returned a conclusion of neglect in December last year.

In addition to the horrific nature of his death, hospital staff at the NHS University Hospitals of Liverpool Group then failed to properly preserve his body, meaning he could not be dressed for his funeral.

Wayne’s sister Ann Mawdsley is taking legal action against the Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust for clinical negligence and for breaching her and her brother’s human rights through Broudie Jackson Canter. She said:  

“I feel like three years on and I still haven’t had any justice. Nobody has taken responsibility for Wayne’s death and nobody has apologised for what happened and the impact Wayne’s death has had on my life. I still have nightmares and flashbacks and I’m terrified of hospitals. I’ve stopped going out of the house and my mental health has been seriously impacted. The hospital could have done several things to save Wayne and he would still be here today, but they didn’t as the inquest recognised. They failed him in life and then they failed him in death. We couldn’t even dress him as he was in such a bad state, his suit is still hanging in my wardrobe. They just left him to rot and it breaks my heart. To this day I will never forget the smell, it was further unnecessary trauma on top of losing the brother that I loved.” 

Homeless campaigner Wayne, who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, was taken to the Countess of Chester Hospital’s accident and emergency department on 20 November 2021, after Ann called an ambulance the day before due to concerns following a deterioration in his mental health.

Wayne, who was agitated and confused, was restrained and taken to the ground by police and security staff at the hospital four times in 25 minutes before he was admitted. When a hospital bed became available, Wayne walked himself towards it and asked for the handcuffs to be removed. Body-Worn Video shown to the jury during the inquest shows that Wayne can be seen to stop breathing, however this went unnoticed. At the inquest a police officer admitted in that he had noticed Wayne stop breathing, but he believed it was a seizure that would self-resolve and he didn't think it was necessary to call the nurse. 

A nurse who attended his bedside initially failed to realise that Wayne had stopped breathing. It was only when she returned to deliver a sedative injection that staff reacted, and he was taken to the resuscitation area.

The inquest heard expert medical evidence from Dr Jasmeet Soar, an expert consultant in emergency medicine, who reviewed footage of the resuscitation attempts and said that basic checks such as blood pressure and other vital signs were not carried out while he was in the resuscitation area.

Wayne was connected to an automatic defibrillator and the footage revealed that it prompted medical staff to give Wayne an electric shock to restart his heart, but none was given.

Dr Soar said Wayne was left without treatment for 14 minutes, starving his brain of oxygen and resulting in a fatal brain injury. It was Dr Soar’s opinion that had such checks been undertaken, Wayne would likely have survived.

A jury at the 12 day inquest found that neglect contributed to his death – an extremely rare conclusion which can only be used where there has been a gross failure to provide basic medical attention and that this caused an individual’s death.

Nicola Miller, a solicitor from Broudie Jackson Canter who represents Wayne’s family, said:  

“Wayne was let down both in life and in death by the medical professionals tasked with helping him. His family are understandably devastated by the way he was treated and feel nobody has taken responsibility or apologised for what happened to Wayne or the enduring trauma they are living through. I would urge the trust to do the right thing and accept responsibility for their actions, apologise and settle the civil matter against them.”