Three calls for help were made to a Royal Bolton Hospital call operator as a man lay dying suffering from an anaphylactic shock during a routine check up in a CT van in the grounds of the hospital. David Horsman suffered from multiple organ failure after having an anaphylactic shock during a regular medical check-up at the Royal Bolton Hospital. On Wednesday, day one of the inquest at Bolton Coroners’ Court, coroner John Pollard said the reaction was most likely due to ‘intravenous contrast’ – a dye used to highlight areas of the body being examined during a CT scan.
Anne Parker was working alone when she received an emergency call to the hospital’s switchboard just two minutes before the end of her shift. Sign up to our newsletters to get the latest stories sent straight to your inbox. Despite radiographer Indogesit Okon asking for a crash team to be sent to the ‘CT van’ in a call at 15.
58, Anne sent the team to area E5, on the other side of the hospital in the paediatric department. At this point, Mr Horsman’s heart was still beating. It wasn’t until a few minutes later that it is now believed he suffered a cardiac arrest.
Mrs Parker did not seem to notice her mistake until the third emergency call from the van, five minutes later at 16.03, when Mr Okon again said he needed help at the ‘CT van’. She then transferred the call to 999, as the incident was happening outside of the main hospital building.
The crash team, however, were not told they had been.
