NHS sorry for tumour victim's excruciating death
HOSPITAL bosses have been condemned after a father-of-five was left to die of a brain tumour without painkillers.
Sandy McGunigal, 51, was left for more than five hours without any pain relief, despite suffering seizures, internal bleeding and swelling of the brain.
Staff at Crosshouse Hospital in Kilmarnock gave Mr McGunigal an oxygen mask and a mild sedative, even when his head began to swell so badly that his ears doubled over.
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The blunders that led to him being left to die without proper medication were revealed in a report highlighting the “inadequate standards” at NHS Ayrshire and Arran. The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman upheld complaints that the health board had failed to give Mr McGunigal the prescribed medication, and did not provide adequate care on May 22, 2010.
I apologise unreservedly to Mrs McGunigal for the circumstances surrounding her husband’s death
The maintenance engineer’s ordeal began when he suffered a seizure on May 21, while waiting for a specialist blood transfusion at Crosshouse Hospital. His widow, Debbie McGunigal, 49, said he waited from midnight until 8.30am to be seen by a doctor while his brain swelled and his legs went black through internal bleeding.
The SPSO report read: “The events which occurred in relation to Mr McGunigal’s management on the night of May 22 to 23, 2010, together with the comments of the on-call doctor, lead me to the view that medical staffing was inadequate/mismanaged and this was a situation which demonstrated poor organisation.”
Further complaints that hospital staff had failed to recognise his pain and did not follow procedures designed to provide best quality for care of the dying were not upheld.
Mr McGunigal was diagnosed in 2009 with a brain tumour and given around five years to live.
Mrs McGunigal of Irvine, Ayrshire, said yesterday: “The health board tried to make it as difficult as possible for me to pursue this complaint, but it took just one phone call to the Ombudsman. I will see if I get an apology from the NHS before I decide what to do next. It’s been two years and I need to start putting my life back together.”
John Burns, chief executive of NHS Ayrshire and Arran, said: “I apologise unreservedly to Mrs McGunigal for the circumstances surrounding her husband’s death. The Ombudsman’s Report, while not upholding all of Mrs McGunigal’s complaints, highlights serious issues around Mr McGunigal’s care.”
