Investigation and inquest
On 19th June 2013 I commenced an investigation into the death of Lucy KILVERT. The investigation concluded at the end of the inquest on 16th October 2013. The conclusion of the inquest was that death was due to an accident.
Circumstances of the death
The deceased was taken to hospital on 14th June 2013 having suffered a fall at home on 10th June 2013 and subsequently deteriorating. She had hit her head in the fall and was on blood thinning medication. She was aged 84 at the time.
Coroner’s concerns
namely that Mrs Kilvert was not initially at the hospital given a CT scan of the head. It was not performed until about 8 hours after presentation at hospital and revealed an intracranial bleed. The medical cause of death was :-
1a) Intracranial bleed,
II Chronic Kidney Failure
Hypertension
Heart Valve Replacement.
As it turned out neurological intervention would not have been appropriate even if a brain bleed had been discovered immediately. I was told by the consultant in emergency medicine who gave evidence, that although the NICE Guidelines were considered, the clinical judgment of the senior house officer who saw her initially was that there was no reason to suspect a bleed, although the consultant said that his judgment may have been different. The consultant felt that the Guidelines possibly insufficiently emphasised the significance of blood thinning medication in elderly people who had a fall when considering whether a CT scan of the head was necessary, albeit that eventually the matter was a question of clinical judgment.