A HAMPSHIRE hospital has apologised after an elderly dementia patient fell and cracked his skull when he was allowed to wander off alone.

Despite being told by relatives that George Pugh had a tendency to wander off due to his condition, staff at Southampton General Hospital failed to make note of it, leaving him able to walk outside alone.

As a result, an inquest heard the frail 84-year-old father had collapsed on the ground outside the emergency department.

He had suffered a fractured skull, cheekbone and a brain haemorrhage and died three weeks later from pneumonia as a result of his injuries.

His son has criticised the treatment his father received from the hospital, branding it as “abysmal” but hospital bosses insist that action has been taken to prevent a similar tragedy.

At Hampshire’s coroner’s court, Georgina Stanley, who has been matron on the AMU ward since August, admitted that staff were unaware of Mr Pugh’s tendencies to wander.

The inquest heard that Mr Pugh, of Sutherland Road, Lordshill, was taken to the toilet on June 27 by a healthcare assistant who left him there to tend to another patient.

When he returned five minutes later he had gone.

The retired kitchen-fitter was found injured outside the hospital, then contracted pneumonia and died on July 16.

Ms Stanley said: “I want to apologise on behalf of the trust for what has happened and for your loss.”

She added that the hospital is making improvements with family communication records, identifying patients at risk of falls, and a button system in and out of AMU.

Recording a narrative verdict, senior Hampshire coroner Grahame Short said: “There were a series of circumstances that led to this death.

“Despite being told about the risk of his wandering, the nursing staff did not document this risk and no steps were taken to meet his dementia needs at the AMU.

“Clearly it was very hard finding your father as you did but it was clearly compounded by what happened in the hospital.”

After the verdict Mr Pugh’s son released a statement which read: “My father’s treatment on admission to Southampton Hospital was simply abysmal from the point of him being admitted to him suffering the fall that ultimately led to his death.

“He wasn’t the first elderly person or patient with dementia to be admitted to hospital. You expect hospitals to be able to handle things like this.

“We also can’t understand how he was able to walk so far without being stopped. He will have passed a couple of nursing stations, and walked down corridors and through a couple of double doors. It is shocking.”

Juliet Pearce, patient safety manager at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We would like to offer Mr Pugh’s family our sincere condolences and we hope the extensive investigation carried out into the circumstances around his death demonstrate how seriously we have taken the issues raised.

“Mr Pugh’s admission highlighted the need for a number of improvements, particularly around documentation, communication between staff and departments and with family members and care for a patient with dementia, with many actions already implemented and others ongoing and closely monitored.

“We will continue to offer Mr Pugh’s family our full support and, if it would be of any further comfort, provide them with more information about the action taken and changes made following our investigation.”