Fall man's family considers action

Mr Hemmings died after falling outside the hospital

The family of a 55-year-old man who died from brain injuries and a fractured skull after falling at a hospital in Brecon are considering taking legal action.

An inquest heard on Monday how a worried doctor sent Ronnie Hemmings from Brecon to Nevill Hall hospital in Abergavenny for a brain scan.

But Mr Hemmings who suffered from mental health problems was sent back to Brecon War Memorial Hospital the following day without having the scan.

Mr Hemmings was sent for a brain scan

The hearing was told Mr Hemmings, from Talybont-on-Usk, south Wales, was confused and prone to wandering.

He had been put into a medical ward in Brecon because there was no room for him in a unit for the mentally infirm.

Two days later he went missing and was found on the floor outside the hospital bleeding heavily from a head wound.

Nurses told the inquest at Brecon how a worried doctor sent him to Nevill Hall Hospital for a CT Scan, but the next day he was returned to Brecon without having the scan.

Dementia suspected

Doctors at Nevill Hall thought that Mr Hemmings may have been suffering from dementia.

Later it was also suspected that he may have contracted the human form of mad cow disease, variant CJD.

However, two weeks later Mr Hemmings died from serious brain damage and a fractured skull.

A Health and Safety Executive Inspector said the War Memorial Hospital had failed to carry out a risk assessment or to report the accident.

Health and safety arrangements have since been improved at Brecon hospital.