More time may not have saved man

A doctor has told an inquest that if he had seen a patient sooner it was unlikely to have prevented his death.

Henry Purnell, 77, of Great Yarmouth, had been drinking heavily before he fell and lost consciousness.

Ambulance staff told the town's coroner they had not realised Mr Purnell had been unconscious, and handed him over to police without treatment.

Three hours later he was taken from police cells to hospital but died two days after from severe brain injuries.

Dr Michael Eichhorn, from the James Paget Hospital in Gorleston, told the jury that he would not have ordered a CT scan just because Mr Purnell had earlier suffered unconsciousness.

But if he had known he had been unconscious before, Dr Eichhorn would not have waited 75 minutes for alcohol tests after Mr Purnell slipped into unconsciousness in the hospital.

'Lost consciousness'

Mr Purnell arrived at the hospital at 2032 GMT on 2 February, and underwent a number of nursing assessments before being seen by Dr Eichhorn.

By 2128 GMT Mr Purnell had gone into a coma.

The tests showed Mr Purnell was nearly three times over the drink-drive limit.

Gary Adams, foreman of the jury, asked Dr Eichhorn: "Would you think that if he had been taken to hospital straight away, you could have saved his life?"

Dr Eichhorn replied: "I think from the point of when he lost consciousness his bleed (brain haemorrhage) had happened which was unfortunately a fatal bleed.

"I doubt it. However, a pathologist may prove me wrong."

Clarify evidence

Dr Eichhorn said the CT images were viewed by Mr Robert Macfarlane, a consultant neurosurgeon at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge.

After viewing the images, which showed brain haemorrhaging and that his brain had shifted by 2cm, Mr Macfarlane said there would be no benefit in performing neurosurgery.

Ambulance workers were called to the witness stand to clarify evidence given on Tuesday about information sent from control to the front-line staff.

Marcus Bailey, a manager for the East of England Ambulance Trust, said the crew had been sent a code which outlined basic details of Mr Purnell's injury, but did not see a later message that gave more details.

The hearing continues.