Alex T: Hospital bosses apologise after death of Leeds DJ from meningitis
An inquest into the death of 25 year old Alex Theodossiadis concluded on Friday.
Hospital bosses have apologised to the family of a Leeds DJ after his death in hospital from meningitis.
25 year old Alex Theodossiadis passed away at St James's University hospital on January 28 2020.
Last week, a coroner found there wasn't a clear course of action for doctors to take to deal with patients with meningitis symptoms.
Alex had also been moved between Leeds General Infirmary and St James's without a nurse escort and without an adequate handover, which would have identified he was at risk of falling.
He suffered a serious head injury after falling to the floor in a side room on a ward and died in intensive care.
Dr Phil Wood, Chief Medical Officer at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust said:
“I would like to offer our sincere condolences to Alexander’s family and apologise that the care he received was not to the standard we would expect.
"We accept the findings of the coroner and we will provide a detailed response to ensure lessons are learned from this.
"Our heartfelt sympathies are with Alexander’s family at this extremely difficult time.”
Last week Wakefield's Senior Coroner Kevin McLoughlin took the unusual step of issuing two separate reports to health authorities calling for improvements.
He wrote to Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust raising concerns around the patient transfer and handover process which left staff at St James's with few details of Alex's condition.
The report also raised concerns about the 'absence of clear leadership' on methods of diagnosing meningitis and the lack of a 'clear pathway' for treatment for meningitis patients.
Alex's family are now calling for more awareness around meningitis symptoms.
You can find more information about the signs and symptoms of meningitis here.