Man with Down syndrome died in hospital after 'being left without food for 10 days'
A man with Down syndrome died days after his family raised concerns about the lack of nutrition he was given at a hospital, an inquest has heard.
The family of Giuseppe Ulleri believe he went 10 days without being fed during his stay at Manchester Royal Infirmary in England.
Mr Ulleri died from pneumonia after struggling to ingest food through a tube, jurors were told.
Outlining the events leading up to the death, coroner Angharad Davies explained how the 61-year-old’s condition meant he had difficulty communicating and was not able to take care of himself, meaning he was the subject of a deprivation of liberty safeguarding order.
Jurors heard how, on the morning of February 26, 2016, he was found lying on the floor of his bedroom in Withington, south Manchester, by staff working for L’Arche, a company who looked after Mr Ulleri and supplied his living accommodation.
Although initial scans taken at Manchester Royal Infirmary that day did not show any significant injuries, he was readmitted the next day after volunteers at L’Arche grew concerned about difficulties he appeared to have in walking and swallowing.
The inquest at Manchester Coroner’s Court heard how an X-ray and CT scan revealed fractures to the vertebrae in his neck, right hip and right wrist.
The coroner explained how, due to the risk of potential pulmonary aspiration, he was made nil by mouth for part of his stay, and had a nasogastric tube, a plastic tube running through the nose and into the stomach inserted on March 9, 2016.
But the coroner explained how the tube only stayed in place for a day as the patient struggled to use it and felt uncomfortable with it in place.
“Joe had long periods of time when he had no nutritional support when he stayed in hospital and for a long period the only nutrition he had was that 24 hours when the tube was in place,” the coroner said.
Giving evidence, Mr Ulleri’s brother Peter said he had phoned into a best interests meeting at the hospital on March 16, 2016, where it was agreed a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy, where a tube is inserted into the patient’s stomach through the abdominal wall, would take place on March 18.
The witness said he believed his brother’s condition was deteriorating due to lack of sufficient nutrition, and said he told staff: “Why the delay? He could die from this.”
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