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Kettering General Hospital apologises for man's death
A HOSPITAL has apologised to the family of a man for "deficiencies" in his care which led to his death.
Passionate Poppies supporter Bernard Bennett had an operation to remove an obstruction in his bowel at Kettering General Hospital in September 2008 but died from fluid overload three days later.
An inquest into his death was held in Kettering on Friday.
Mr Bennett, of St Catherine's Road, Kettering, went to the hospital's accident and emergency department on September 15, 2008, with abdominal pains.
A CT scan revealed he had a bowel obstruction, which had been caused by a malignant melanoma.
After an operation to remove it Mr Bennett, 76, was moved to the hospital's extended care unit and over the following days was given intravenous fluids by different staff to try to control his blood pressure and because of concerns he was dehydrated.
However, he died in the early hours of September 15.
The hospital's chief operating officer, Jayne Tunstall, said: "We would like to apologise to Mr Bennett's family for the deficiencies in our care as outlined by the coroner and noted in our own internal investigation.
"We have learned lessons from this case and since 2008 we have re-emphasised the importance of record keeping with all staff, especially in respect of fluid balance.
"This includes a regular monthly check on our staff's compliance with proper record keeping."
Giving a narrative verdict coroner Anne Pember said: "Mr Bennett underwent surgery where he had a laparotomy and some of his bowel moved.
"There was poor note-taking (by Kettering General Hospital].
"It was felt his deterioration was down to dehydration.
"He was in fluid overload, this condition caused his untimely death."
Giving evidence, consultant histopathologist Dr Brian Gostelow, who conducted the post mortem examination, said: "My opinion is that gross fluid overload was the major factor in Mr Bennett's death."
He added Mr Bennett would have expected to have lived for "a few months longer" following the operation on his bowel if he had not died of fluid overload.
Mr Bennett ran Kettering Town Football Club's travel club bus and in the early 1990s was one of the men who fought to keep the club alive.
He would also regularly be seen behind the bar serving fans in the social club.
Speaking after the inquest his brother John Bennett said: "He was always there for other people and deserved better."
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