Inquest finds death was 'preventable and avoidable'

The death of a patient at the Causeway Hospital was "preventable and avoidable", a coroner has ruled.

Christopher Trolan from Ballymoney died after staff failed to give him a sufficient level of antibiotics to ensure he recovered after falling ill in November 2019.

The coroner Louisa Fee said there had been multiple missed opportunities and failings in his care, and if he had been treated adequately the 37-year-old would have survived.

Following initial treatment, it seemed that his condition was improving and there was a belief that medication had been working, the inquest heard.

However, two weeks after he was admitted, Mr Trolan's condition deteriorated and he experienced temperature spikes and a rapid heart rate.

The father of two was given new medication, but the coroner found there had been "undertreatment" with antibiotics which were not enough to kill off bacteria in a clot on his heart.

The coroner said the failure to identify this error in Mr Trolan's prescription was not entered into his records, describing this as "striking".

She said staff were aware of the error and it should have been discussed with the patient himself and with his family, but it was not. She said Mr Trolan's condition was not properly reviewed by staff at the Causeway Hospital.

In a statement following the verdict, the Northern Health Trust said: "We offer our sincere condolences to Mr Trolan's family and apologise unreservedly for the failings in care that have been highlighted.

"We fully accept the coroner's findings and will take time to reflect on the learning.

"The Trust has already undertaken an investigation into Mr Trolan's care and identified learning which has been shared with staff. This is a very tragic situation, and we are deeply sorry for the family's pain and loss."

Speaking outside court, Mr Trolan's sister Laura said his loss had been devastating for the family.

"In particular for his wife and two young sons, who were aged just two years old and 13 weeks old at the time," she said.

"Although today's verdict brings closure on what has been a prolonged and extremely difficult five-year review of Christopher's care, it confirms what we, his family, have always believed.

"That is, that Christopher's death is highly likely to have been avoided had Causeway Hospital provided the appropriate treatment."

She said "significant errors" made by the hospital and the fact these were undetected for such a long period of time were are "evidence of substandard care and systemic failure".

"We can only hope that lessons are learned from Christopher's death so that other families do not have to go through what we have," she added.