By John Wimperis, Local Democracy Reporter: A Bath widow whose husband died due to neglect at the RUH is calling for the hospital to take action to avoid so that nobody else has to lose a loved one the same way.
Gaynor Nippard lost her husband of 57-years, Alan Nippard, in 2022 (pictured together). He was admitted to the Royal United Hospital ‘s Pierce Ward after a fall caused by septic arthritis in his knee. He should have been discharged when his knee improved but inadequate nursing care saw him develop a pressure sore which turned into a serious form of gangrene called Fournier’s Gangrene.
Eventually he was told he would not be fit for the surgery that is the only treatment for Fournier’s Gangrene, and the RUH could only offer him palliative care. Mrs Nippard said: “You don’t go into hospital for such a minor thing and expect to die.”
An inquest found the pressure sore was preventable and that, even after it had developed, his death could have been prevented with basic care. Simple care such as making sure Mr Nippard had an air mattress and was regularly repositioned did not happen. The trust’s lead Tissue Viability Nurse told the inquest the bed care Alan received was “shocking.”
Coroner Maria Voisin said: “There was a gross failure to provide basic nursing care.” She added that, at the time of the inquest in July 2023, there had been two other cases that month of pressure sores in the Pierce Ward that month.
Mrs Nippard has urged the hospital to listen to the coroner and improve screening and training of nursing staff so others won’t have to go through the same ordeal. She said “We as a family are absolutely devastated with losing Alan the way we did”.
She added: “Please, please check everything that’s going on with your loved one in any bed in that hospital.”
Law firm RWK Goodman represented the family at the inquest and in a medical negligence claim settled for an undisclosed sum. Becky Randel, an associate in RWK Goodman’s clinical negligence team, said: “Whilst the family instructed us to represent them at the inquest and in a subsequent claim, their objective has always been that the poor care Alan received was made widely known and that the trust made improvements to ensure that such awful care did not happen to others.
“At the inquest, hospital staff accepted that despite the failings in Alan’s care taking place a year prior, there had been further pressure sores incidents on the same ward. It is hoped that the training put in place by the trust after the inquest has led to improvements on the ward, however, such basic nursing care should not have been absent either at the time of Alan’s death or a year later at his inquest.”
A spokesperson for the RUH said: “We offer our sincere apologies to Mr Nippard’s family and loved ones for the failings in his care.
“We have a dedicated Tissue Viability Nursing (TVN) Team and since 2023 we have made significant improvements in the prevention and management of pressure ulcers across the RUH. This includes education and training for nursing staff on the nationally recognised SSKIN Care Bundle — a tool to help monitor skin concerns and proactively reduce the risks of developing a pressure ulcer.
“We have learnt from this distressing case and are committed to ongoing training, stringent monitoring and thorough care planning to ensure the safety of the people we care for.”
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