A&E medics who treated a man after the Porsche he was in smashed into a lamppost failed to detect serious internal injuries amid staff shortages and blocked beds, an inquest heard.
Daniel Schofield, 42, was a passenger in the blue Boxster when it crashed on Greenacres Road in Oldham, Greater Manchester, in March last year.
Mr Schofield, who lived nearby, died at Royal Oldham Hospital after suffering internal injuries.
Daniel Schofield was a passenger in this car when it hit a lamppost in Oldham, Greater Manchester
Doctors and nurses told an inquest into his death there were delays in his treatment because the hospital was so busy – and that he was left waiting on a trolley in a corridor.
A medic told Rochdale Coroners’ Court a full body CT scan was not ordered and that Mr Schofield should have been treated differently.
Hospital staff described queuing ambulances, patients waiting in corridors and a lack of staff on the afternoon Mr Schofield was admitted on March 22.
When he arrived at A&E, staff were informed he had been a front passenger in the car when it crashed.
Dr Mark Riley, who carried out the initial assessment on Mr Schofield, said the department had a high number of patients arriving via ambulance – and blocked beds.
Medics told an inquest that delays in Mr Schofield’s treatment were due to the hospital being busy after the Boxster crashed
‘Exit blocking impacts on the flow of patients through the department and the care they receive,’ Dr Riley told the court.
‘Exit blocking is associated with increased risk of death with patients in every department.’
Dr Riley told the court ‘significant’ exit blocking resulted in delays in Mr Schofield being transferred to an appropriate space for assessment.
It meant he was left waiting on a trolley in a corridor until a bed became available, Dr Riley added.
The court heard there was a 19-minute delay between Mr Schofield arriving and being registered at A&E.
After the crash, medics treating the passenger failed to detect internal injuries that would kill him and today blamed staff shortages
Dr Riley said Mr Schofield was intoxicated but alert during his assessment.
He complained of feeling uncomfortable and said he had pain in his back, Dr Riley told the court.
He said that during his handover, a triage nurse should have been present taking a set of observations, but one was not present.
After examining Mr Schofield’s back and stomach, Dr Riley said he was ‘falsely reassured’ and only requested a head and neck CT scan, rather than a full MRI scan.
Area coroner Lisa Hashmi asked: ‘Why did you only look at the head? Why not the chest? Why not the abdomen?’
‘Practice has changed as a result of Daniel’s case,’ Dr Riley responded. ‘There was some variation between some clinicians.
Tributes were left at the scene where Mr Schofield the internal injuries that would kill him after going undetected
‘In Daniel’s case there was a lack of appreciation of what the mechanism of injury was.’
He added: ‘I would like to say if I saw Daniel again I would have done things differently. I would have done a whole body CT scan.’
The court also heard that Daniel was incorrectly treated for alcohol withdrawal before going into cardiac arrest later that afternoon.
The driver of the Porsche, Stephen Wilson, 47, was jailed last year after pleading guilty death by dangerous driving, drink driving, and driving while uninsured.
Wilson, of Brideoak Street, Oldham, was sentenced to eight years in prison and banned from driving for 10 years at Minshull Street Crown Court on April 28 last year.