Prevention of Future Deaths reports · 2023

David Hall

Regulation 28 report to prevent future deaths, reference 2023-0382, written 12 Oct 2023. A coroner writes one of these when an inquest reveals a risk that could cause further deaths unless something changes.

Date of report12 Oct 2023
Reference2023-0382
DeceasedDavid Hall
CoronerAlison Mutch
Coroner areaManchester South
CategoryHospital Death (Clinical Procedures and medical management) related deaths
Organisation namedStockport NHS Foundation Trust
Sourcejudiciary.uk record · original PDF
Responses published1

The report

Text extracted from the PDF text layer. Reproduced verbatim, including the scan's own layout.

REGULATION 28:  REPORT TO PREVENT FUTURE DEATHS 

REGULATION 28 REPORT TO PREVENT FUTURE DEATHS 

THIS REPORT IS BEING SENT TO: The One Stockport Health and Care 
Board 

1  CORONER 

I am Alison Mutch, Senior Coroner, for the coroner area of South 
Manchester 

2  CORONER’S LEGAL POWERS 

I make this report under paragraph 7, Schedule 5, of the Coroners and 
Justice Act 2009 and regulations 28 and 29 of the Coroners 
(Investigations) Regulations 2013 

3 

INVESTIGATION and INQUEST 

On 16th  March 2023 I commenced an investigation into the death of David 
Hall. The investigation concluded on the 2nd  August 2023 and the 
conclusion was one of Narrative: Died from the complications of poor 
swallow which developed whilst an inpatient where admission had 
been due to a shortage of a suitable community placement and 
discharge was delayed due to a shortage of a suitable social care 
placement. The medical cause of death was 1a) Aspiration Pneumonia 
and COVID-19; II) Dementia 

4  CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE DEATH 

David Hall had dementia and was admitted to Stepping Hill Hospital as a 
consequence of there being no safe and suitable place for him to reside 
when his usual care arrangement could not continue. He was fit and 
ready for discharge and was awaiting a placement in a suitable care 
facility. Whilst in the acute hospital setting, he deteriorated rapidly. His 
nutritional requirements were not fully met and his swallow deteriorated, 
which led to further weight loss and ultimately to him developing 
aspiration pneumonia. Whilst an in-patient he contracted covid 19 which 
impacted his overall health further. He continued to deteriorate and died 
at Stepping Hill Hospital on 14th  March 2023. 

1 

 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 5  CORONER’S CONCERNS 

During the course of the inquest the evidence revealed matters giving rise 
to concern. In my opinion there is a risk that future deaths will occur 
unless action is taken. In the circumstances it is my statutory duty to 
report to you. 

The MATTERS OF CONCERN are as follows.  – 
The inquest heard evidence that if a suitable emergency social care 
placement had been available then Mr Hall would not have been admitted 
to hospital. However, there was no alternative as one could not be found 
and he was unsafe in the community. His stay in the acute setting led to a 
rapid deterioration. He had to continue to stay in hospital because a 
suitable social care placement could not be found for him. The evidence 
was that had he been in a suitable social care setting his needs would 
have been met in a more appropriate way. 

The evidence was that these difficulties in finding a placement were as a 
result of issues in availability of social care within Stockport. 

6  ACTION SHOULD BE TAKEN 

In my opinion action should be taken to prevent future deaths and I 
believe you have the power to take such action. 

7  YOUR RESPONSE 

You are under a duty to respond to this report within 56 days of the date 
of this report, namely by 7th  December 2023. I, the coroner, may extend 
the period. 

Your response must contain details of action taken or proposed to be 
taken, setting out the timetable for action. Otherwise you must explain 
why no action is proposed. 

8  COPIES and PUBLICATION 

I have sent a copy of my report to the Chief Coroner and to the following 
Interested Persons namely 1) 
 on behalf of the Family and; 2) 
Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, who may find it useful or of interest. 

I am also under a duty to send the Chief Coroner a copy of your 
response. 

2 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 The Chief Coroner may publish either or both in a complete or redacted 
or summary form. He may send a copy of this report to any person who 
he believes may find it useful or of interest. You may make 
representations to me, the coroner, at the time of your response, about 
the release or the publication of your response by the Chief Coroner. 

9 

Alison Mutch 
HM Senior Coroner 

12.10.2023 

3

Responses

1 response published against this report on judiciary.uk. A response is a body's written reply to the coroner's concerns; publication is at the discretion of the Chief Coroner's office, so an absent response does not mean nobody replied.

Response from Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council (PDF)
Chief Executive 
Town Hall 
Stockport  
SK1 3XE 

7 December 2023 

[Type here] 

Ms A Mutch  
HM Senior Coroner 
Coroner’s Court  
1 Mount Tabor  Street  
Stockport  
SK1 3AG 

Dear Ms Mutch 

I refer to the Regulation 28 Report issued following the inquest into the death of Mr David Hall and 
thank you for contacting Stockport Council.  

In your report you highlighted areas of concern regarding Mr Hall’s experiences and care provision by 
adult social care, prior to his admission into Stepping Hill hospital on 28 January 2023. Noted as;  
Died from the complications of poor swallow which developed whilst an inpatient where admission 
had been due to a shortage of a suitable community placement and discharge was delayed due to 
a shortage of a suitable social care placement.  

Below is a summary of events of Adult Social Care involvement prior to Mr Hall’s admission.  
Details have been obtained from the records adult social care and NHS hold for Mr Hall. Unfortunately, 
Stockport adult social care was not made aware of the inquest or identified as an interested party to 
support  the  inquest.  It  is  our  hope  that  the  information  provided  in  this  response  is  sufficient  to 
highlight the steps taken by adult social care and the NHS providers in Mr Hall’s care. Mr Hall was not 
previously known to adult social care prior to this intervention.  

 Mr Hall’s daughter, 
2023, at 19:15pm. She advised that Mr Hall’s wife, 
same evening with a suspected fractured Hip and Elbow.  
be admitted to hospital, and she would be unable to care for her father during this period.   

, contacted the Adult Social Care Out of Hours Team on the 26 January 
 had been admitted into hospital the 
 may 

 was concerned that 

 confirmed that 

 was Mr Hall’s sole carer and advised that family would be able to 
support Mr Hall for that evening. At this point a referral was made by the out of hours service to the 
Heaton Neighbourhood Team to contact Mr Hall, and his family to ensure a short-term plan was in 
place to support 

 during this difficult time.  

The  following  day  a  referral  and  information  officer  from  adult  social  care,  contacted 
further discuss the situation at that time. 
the previous evening, but also provided further information in respect of the current situation for 

  to 
 again confirmed her father had stayed with her 

 and her father. 

 explained her father was experiencing a deterioration in his physical 
health, which  was resulting  in  an  increase in the care and support he required. This was putting a 
strain on his wife as his main carer. 
 also described concerns in regard to her father’s memory 
and cognitive functioning describing an incident where he had tried to leave the property several times 
and attempted to get out of the property through a window.  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 [Type here] 

 also described her concerns in detail of how 

 and father were managing in their 
home, in particular concerns around the physical environment. She went on to describe how she felt 
 was not able to continue her caring role, as the physical and emotional needs of her father 
 described how her father’s confusion and agitation was increasing in the 
were increasing. 
evenings. She was aware a  medication review had been completed by the community mental health 
 expressed concerns that adult social care was not involved and advised 
team in the past.  
  confirmed  that  she  felt  that  her  father 
that  they  required  respite  care  for  this  period. 
required support from adult social care. At the time she also described concerns regarding 
, 
as a carer.  

 further advised that she works full time and that her husband had taken the day off work to 
care for her father. She advised that they would not be able to continue this and required residential 
respite care. 
  also  advised  that, she had contacted the crisis response team. We have no 
record of the outcome of this contact on Mr Hall’s record. 

 The same day 
 was contacted by the duty social worker, who liaised with the crisis response 
team, working with individuals through a multi-disciplinary approach to support people in their own 
home. From discussions with this team, it was felt that they would not be able to support Mr Hall at 
that time due to his level of need.  To ensure all necessary information was considered to inform any 
interventions discussions were also held with the community mental health team. They advised they 
had previously supported Mr Hall, but he was not currently receiving support from them.  

The duty social worker then confirmed with 
 that respite care would be arranged as soon as 
a provider that was able to meet Mr Hall’s needs was identified. She was asked to discuss this option 
with her father to determine how Mr Hall felt about going into respite care. 
 confirmed that 
Mr Hall was in support of respite care. Thirteen residential homes were contacted, and there was no 
emergency respite provision available, the same day. One of the providers was able to support from 
the following Monday. Enquiries were made to secure a night service for Mr Hall from the in-house 
provider. Following this 
 stated that she was unable 
to provide her father with support over the weekend and she had contacted his GP. Due to this further 
consideration was given to support that would be immediately available, but no further provision was 
found on 27th January 2023.  

 was contacted with an update, 

Following the call to the GP Mr Hall was admitted to Stepping Hill hospital, Mr Hall was admitted on 
28th  January  2023  due  to  a  urine  tract  infection,  acute  confusion,  agitation,  and  pseudo  gout.  The 
Foundation Trust records show Mr Hall was identified to move to Hilltop Home, a nursing home for 
people with Dementia. 

This was his discharge pathway from hospital. Unfortunately, Mr Hall was confirmed as Covid positive, 
on 28th February 2024 which delayed his discharge. Further arrangements were then made to support 
Mr Hall on 13th March 2023, but unfortunately, he was too poorly to leave hospital as he was receiving 
treatment.  

It is important to note, the UTI diagnosed by Mr Halls’ GP on 28 January was one of the reasons he 
was admitted into hospital. The impact of this was such that the GP supported a hospital admission.  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 [T[T[T[T[T[T[T[T[T[T[T[T[T[T[T[T[T[T[T[TT[TTT[[[[T[[T[[T[T[[T[T[T[T[T[T[T[T[T[T[T[T[T[T[T[TTT[T[TT[T[T[TT[T[T[TT[TTT[T[T[T[TTT[T[T[[T[T[T[T[TT[[T[TTT[TTT[[T[[[T[[[[[[ ypypypypypypypypypypypypypyypypypypypypyyyppypyyypypypypypypypypypyppyppypyypyppyppypypypypypypyyppypypypyyypypyyyyppypypyyppypypyyppyyyypyypyppyypypppppypyyppppyypyyyyyyyypeeeeee hehehehehehehehhhhehehehhehhehehhhhhhhhhhhheheehhheeheehhehhhheheeeeeeeeeeereeeeee]
[Type here] 

Commissioning concerns relating to the Regulation 28 Report 

In relation to the regulation 28, I have noted below some of the work currently ongoing within adult 
social care to ensure that we have a safe, efficient, and effective provision of care for our residents. 
Adult  social  care  discharges  its  duty  under  the  Care  Act  with  the  availability  of  care  and  support 
services, for delivering care and support and avoiding admissions into hospital. This also includes an 
emergency response when carers are unable to continue in there caring role(s).  

We will utilise residential and nursing beds within the community, some of whom adult social care 
block book for availability. 

We acknowledge the challenges in the social care market and are continually working to address these 
through  more  flexible,  sustainable  and  outcome  focussed  services.  It  is  particularly  challenging 
working within the independent sector and the Council acknowledge the services they provide on our 
behalf and work in partnership to address any gaps in our market. This is a particular issue where 
emergency step up support is concerned where there is a need to respond at short notice to avoid an 
individual being admitted into hospital.  

We know capacity in the market fluctuates and seasonal pressures can exacerbate the ability to place 
individuals at short notice. However, we have and are continuing to take steps to improve the capacity 
in the care market and to ensure providers can support individuals at short notice. For instance, we 
have dedicated step down capacity that could be flexed to accommodate individuals and have recently 
utilised short-term funding to provide same day pick up of home care support. 
The  relatively  high  levels  of  occupancy  in  the  nursing  care  market  in  Stockport  provide  some 
sufficiency  challenges  where  there  are  higher  levels  of  demand  for  this  type  of  placement.   The 
number of vacancies in care homes in Stockport is currently steady with the longer-term trend being 
an  increase  in  occupancy.   The  assessment  is  that  the  numbers  of  beds  available  in  Stockport  are 
generally sufficient to meet the demands placed on the sector by the Council and health partners 
although this is subject to fluctuations in demand. 

Yours sincerely 

Chief Executive

Related reports

Other reports by Alison Mutch

See all →

More reports categorised “Hospital Death (Clinical Procedures and medical management) related deaths”

See all →

Track Stockport NHS Foundation Trust

See every Prevention of Future Deaths report matching Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, and how often a new one appears.

What would an alert for this have sent me? Search the full text

Free to try — the preview shows the real matches and how many arrived in the last 12 months. Your first email alert is free.

These reports are published by the Chief Coroner's office at judiciary.uk and are © Crown copyright. The text here is reproduced from the published PDF so it can be searched. If something on this page is wrong, or you are a person named in it and want it reviewed, email drcjar@gmail.com and we will act promptly.