TRAGIC: Doctor Playing On His Computer Ignores Dying Woman's Cry For 2 Hours

A great-grandmother who died after surgery was left in agony for hours while a nearby doctor 'played on a computer', an inquest heard.

Sarah Ann Gray, 81, from Haughton Green, Tameside, was 'screaming in pain 'and vomiting at Manchester Royal Infirmary because her bowel perforated after an operation, despite a doctor being nearby.
According to reports, Sarah Ann Gray, 81, was 'screaming in pain' and vomiting because her bowel perforated after an operation

 

Her son, Gary, 52, went to ask for pain relief but was told that the doctor in the corridor, who was 'playing on a computer', was 'not on this morning', her inquest was told.
Mr Gray said at the hearing: 'She was screaming in pain, but we couldn't get a doctor for two hours. There was a doctor playing on a computer in the corridor. He was seated right outside the room.'
After two hours of intense pain, Mrs Gray was finally given morphine. She died a few weeks later of complications from the surgery.

Her daughter, Susan Carter, told the inquest at Manchester town hall that she believed her mother 'could be alive' today if not for hospital errors.

Coroner Nigel Meadows, recording a narrative verdict, said that Mrs Gray died from multi-organ failure following complications after bowel surgery, but also noted a number of failures in nursing care.
Mr Meadows said: 'I can see... a number of failures in nursing care. It can't be said they were physically a cause of her death.

'The pathologist is saying the perforation of her bowel led to multi-organ failure.' A 41-page hospital report showed lapses in nursing care in nutrition and hydration, pain management, infection prevention and record-keeping.

The inquest was told that the report showed the hospital had taken the issue seriously. After the inquest, Mrs Gray's son Gary said: 'It's a catalogue of errors and only tells us what we already knew, but maybe the hospital will learn for future families.'
A hospital spokesman said: 'Mrs Gray was given pain relief immediately after her procedure and a doctor was then called to provide a stronger painkiller and attended to Mrs Gray an hour-and-a-half later.
'Another doctor who was present on the ward at the time was from a visiting speciality and not familiar with Mrs Gray.'
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