Hospital apologises for failings in its care of man who died of heart attack

A Dublin hospital has apologised at the High Court for failings in its care of a man who died of a heart attack four days after he first presented at the hospital with shortness of breath.

William Carpenter (64), a father and grandfather, was referred to Beaumont Hospital on August 6th, 2013 and was noted to have a history of increasing shortness of breath. After an ECG, he was discharged from the hospital emergency department with a prescription. Four days later, he went back to the hospital, was admitted to the acute medical unit and died of cardiac arrest some four hours later.

Dr John O’Mahony, for Mr Carpenter’s family, said it was a profoundly sad and tragic case.

The apology on behalf of the hospital was read to the court as Mr Carpenter’s widow Marie, of Marino, Dublin, and family settled their action for €140,000.

In the apology, Beaumont Hospital said, together with its clinical and nursing staff , it wished to extend “sincere and heartfelt sympathy to the Carpenter family on the death of Mr Carpenter.”

It said the hospital “wishes to apologise unreservedly to Mrs Marie Carpenter and her family for the hospital’s failings and the distress and sorrow caused to the Carpenter family.”

In the action, it was claimed Mr Carpenter was referred to the emergency department of the hospital on August 6th, 2013, was recorded as having a heart rate of 104 beats per minute and noted as having a history of increasing shortness of breath which was worse when lying down.

It was also noted he was not able to sleep the previous night because of breathlessness. He had an ECG but it is claimed he did not undergo any other investigation .

The ECG, it was claimed, showed the presence of abnormalities and Mr Carpenter was discharged with a prescription.

Mr Carpenter continued to be unwell and went back to the hospital emergency department four days later, was transferred to the acute medical unit but suffered a heart attack there and died.

It was claimed there was failure to investigate Mr Carpenter properly or at all when he presented to the hospital on August 6th.

Beaumont Hospital admitted a breach of duty in its failure to investigate and admit Mr Carpenter to hospital on August 6th, 2013.