Patient died after trolley wait

Mr Varnam had to wait hours to see a doctor

An inquest has heard that a Leicester man died from a brain abscess after waiting for eight hours on a hospital trolley to see a doctor.

Paul Varnam, 27, from Leicester, might have lived if he had been transferred earlier to another hospital, the inquest was told by a neurosurgeon.

Mr Varnam was admitted to the Leicester Royal Infirmary (LRI) at 0530 GMT on 10 December 2002.

The inquest heard he was given antibiotics by his GP for an ear infection.

Brain abscess

On the day he was admitted to the hospital, Mr Varnam had a discharge from his ear and was running a temperature.

A nurse gave him pain killers and told him there was an eight-hour wait to see a doctor.

Elaine Varnam, Paul's mother, told BBC News that she pleaded for help for her son, but no-one listened to her.

"I shouted for help... but the security people down the hall were more help than the medical staff."

At 1315 GMT he began thrashing around on the trolley and was seen by doctors who gave him a brain scan.

The scan revealed a brain abscess and he was transferred to the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham.

Hospital policy

An operation was carried out to drain the abscess, but he died the next day.

The coroner has asked for a statement from every member of staff who was involved in Mr Varnam's case on that day.

The coroner adjourned the inquest in Nottingham until next year.

A statement from the NHS trust that runs the LRI says that sincere condolences are sent to Paul Varnam's family.

It also offered an apology for the distress his death has caused.

The trust also says that changes have been made within the hospital's casualty unit and other emergency services to improve waiting times.