Family of late Rev Canon Geoffrey Grant, from Nacton and living at Marham House care home in Bury St Edmunds, speak of ‘heartbreak’ following failings
The family of a retired vicar who died following failings have thanked a law firm for ‘securing justice’ for him.
The Rev Canon Geoffrey Grant, from Nacton, near Ipswich, died on April 23, 2022, aged 88 following an incorrect prescription of anticoagulant medication.
He was sent back to his care home, Marham House, in Bury St Edmunds, from West Suffolk Hospital without the necessary instructions to pause his anticoagulant medication and died after suffering a second intracranial haemorrhage and sepsis.
An out-of-court settlement was agreed with both West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, which runs West Suffolk Hospital, and Angel Hill Surgery.
The Rev Canon Grant’s family said they would always be grateful to Firdous Ibrahim, a senior associate solicitor in the clinical negligence department at Leigh Day, for representing them and for ‘succeeding in securing justice for our beloved Dad’.
A statement from his daughter said: “As a family, it has been heartbreaking to witness and relive the immense suffering Dad was forced to endure as a result of the failings by those we entrusted with his care.
“We constantly repeatedly expressed our concerns to his care home and the hospital, but these concerns were ignored.
"Inquests are to establish the facts, trust investigations are for learning, but for families it is about the accountability and responsibility for the suffering caused by systemic failings, avoidable harm, and preventable deaths.
“As a family, we hope that the lessons learned from Dad's death will prevent other people going through the same suffering.”
The Rev Canon Grant suffered a stroke in February 2022 while at his care home and was taken to West Suffolk Hospital.
He was discharged back to his care home on March 2, 2022, and a decision was made to withhold his anticoagulants until a MRI review had been undertaken.
However, the hospital discharge summary was written but not sent, and the instructions to stop his Rivaroxaban were not received by his GP surgery until April 5, 2022.
His Rivaroxaban was prescribed by a dispensing pharmacist at the GP surgery and was commenced by staff at the care home on March 28 2022, despite the note from a GP confirming that the Rivaroxaban had been stopped.
His family also made the care home aware that the consultant had advised to stop the anticoagulants.
As far as the family was aware, the medication had been stopped. However, the GP continued to dispense the medication and the care home continued to administer this to him for a further two weeks.
As a result, the Rev Canon Grant had another intracranial haemorrhage and died at hospital on April 23.
An inquest into his death concluded it was contributed to by the incorrect prescription of anticoagulant medication, Rivaroxaban. The coroner also identified significant failings in his care received from West Suffolk Hospital, the care home and the GP.
The Rev Canon Grant’s family instructed Leigh Day clinical negligence solicitor Firdous Ibrahim to represent them in their claim for clinical negligence.
Firdous argued that his wife, Wendy, spent countless hours by his side each day, both at the care home and later in the hospital. She remained constantly present to ensure he received proper care, even as she had to witness his condition deteriorate.
Despite her repeated reminders for the care home not to administer the anticoagulant medication, they continued to give it to him.
West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (WSFT), which runs West Suffolk Hospital, admitted the delay in sending the discharge letter and summary was a breach of duty of care.
Angel Hill Surgery also admitted failure to arrange a follow-up call to the care home after being notified that the family had been told the Rev Canon Grant’s medication had been stopped.
A statement from Angel Hill Surgery said: “Everyone at Angel Hill Surgery sends their condolences and best wishes to the family of Mr Grant."
Richard Goodwin, chief medical director for WSFT, said: “We are very sorry for how we handled Mr Grant’s discharge, and we have made improvements to our procedures following a thorough patient safety review to make sure this doesn’t happen again.
“We would like to send our sincere condolences to the loved ones of Rt Reverend Geoffrey Grant, at what remains a difficult time.”
The care home’s current provider, Anchor, said the matter related to prior to Anchor’s acquisition of Marham House.
The Rev Canon Grant had been married to Wendy for 60 years and lived with her until December 2021, when he went to respite care at Marham House care home.
He spent his life in service to others, as a school governor, a school chaplain and a church minister of five parishes, until he retired at the age of 81.
His family added: “Dad's love for others was central to everything he did. He treated everyone with respect and dignity. He believed that every person, no matter how young or old, was precious and to be valued. He is greatly missed by us and all those who knew him.”
Firdous said: "While no legal outcome can ever fully compensate for the loss of a loved one, I sincerely hope that this resolution offers the Grant family a measure of justice and peace.
“It is my hope that through this process, they are able to find some comfort in knowing that Geoffrey's life and legacy have been honoured, and that their voices were heard."