Patient died after swallowing wipes at Leeds hospital

A patient being treated at Leeds General Infirmary following a fall from a bridge died after trying to swallow surgical wipes, a new report reveals.
Leeds General InfirmaryLeeds General Infirmary
Leeds General Infirmary

In a separate incident, a patient who died at St James’s Hospital last year was found to have eaten safety gel used on wards.

The deaths are among eight serious incidents which took place at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust in October and November 2015.

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A report to hospital directors says the first patient was admitted to LGI in October after jumping from a bridge and suffering multiple injuries.

He had been in hospital for nine days when he was found unresponsive on his bed after having been left with a bowl and wipes to wash himself. During attempts to resuscitate him, wipes were removed from his mouth.

Craig Brigg, director of quality at LTHT, said in the report that the patient had been seen by the psychiatry team during his stay and was assessed as not requiring one-to-one care.

Police investigated the death and decided there were no suspicious circumstances, but a joint inquiry is underway by hospital and mental health trust bosses.

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In the other incident, a patient being supervised by a private security guard because of his aggressive behaviour was seen to be choking after having been left alone briefly.

He was found to have thick crystals, believed to be from safety gel used to absorb fluids, in his mouth.

Following his death, a patient safety alert was issued and the coroner informed.

During November and December there were eight serious incidents at Leeds hospitals.

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Two were falls and others included a baby who died after being born prematurely, a delay in treating a patient with learning disabilities who later died, a patient who was injured during a keyhole operation and a delay in providing a chemotherapy patient with a replacement charger for a piece of equipment.