Diabetes victim died at Walsall Manor after insulin treatment

Retired carpenter Dennis Heath, aged 87, had health complications and died on June 14 after falling into a coma from which he did not recover.

Staff had given him treatment that was more suited for type 1 diabetes, a different form of the condition.

He had been taken to the hospital twice in May in a confused state from his home, in Old Vicarage Close, Pelsall, after concerns that he may have suffered a stroke.

The hearing was told while he was in the hospital his blood sugar fell to a score of four and he was given an insulin drip overnight on June 13.

But Mr Heath developed low blood sugar complications as a result and died the next day.

Pathologist Dr Iqbal Desai told the hearing held at Smethwick Council House: "My understanding from the treatment history is that after this episode of hypoglycaemia he was comatose. This is quite important and a very significant factor."

"That was not a natural cause of death because he is given this insulin and then he did not really recover from that," he added.

He gave the cause of death as pneumonia; low blood sugar complications and a stroke resulting from a blockage in the vessels supplying blood to the brain.

Mr Heath's daughter Glenys Povey, a greengrocer, told the inquest the family had concerns over his treatment at the hospital, including that a MRI scan of his brain was not done, that he was not treated on the stroke unit, that staff had written in his hospital notes that he had dementia although he was never diagnosed with it.

In a narrative conclusion Black Country coroner Mr Zafar Siddique said: "He had high levels of protein in his cerebral fluid and later an insulin drip was commenced on a sliding scale. His blood sugar was four.

"With regards to this there was a failure to escalate this to a doctor earlier – the insulin would have been addressed sooner."

Mr Siddique said he was satisfied on balance of probabilities with the cause of death given by Dr Desai.

Consultant emergency doctor Mr Najam Rashid told the inquest that since Mr Heath's death Walsall Manor Hospital had put in place an action plan for the distinct management of diabetes patients with type 1 and type 2 low blood sugar.

After the hearing Mrs Povey told the Express & Star she will be writing to trust bosses with her concerns about her father's care.

She said he had lived in Featherstone before moving to Pelsall when his second marriage broke down in 2012.

"He was a great singer and compere at social events wherever he went. If there was an open mic he would sing Dean Martin songs.

"He loved travelling and had toured Europe in his camper van," Mrs Povey said.