Family releases CCTV pictures depicting hospital’s clinical negligence

Posted 20/06/2010

A family has released CCTV pictures which show a man who became the victim of clinical negligence because hospital staff thought he was drunk.

Arnold Siddall, 47, was pushed over outside a bar in Failsworth in 2007 after he went to complain about the noise and he hit his head on the pavement.

He was treated by paramedics who made notes about his condition, but when Mr Siddall got to Royal Oldham Hospital, nurses did not read them and assumed he was intoxicated.

Instead of being treated for a fractured skull, the victim was ejected from the hospital and staff watched him staggering around the car park, disoriented and vomiting.

It was only when he was arrested more than 14 hours later that police realised he was not drunk and rushed him back to hospital.

However, it was too late to treat him and Mr Siddall died from a brain haemorrhage two days later.

Pennine Acute NHS Trust has now paid clinical negligence compensation to Mr Siddall’s family and said it has introduced new measures to better deal with head injury patients.

The victim’s relatives have released CCTV footage of his ordeal in the hope that it will prevent similar mistakes.

According to the Brain and Spine Foundation, confusion and vomiting are common symptoms of a serious head injury.