Source · Prevention of Future Deaths

John Lobo

Ref: 2015-0182 Date: 11 May 2015 Coroner: Selena Lynch Area: London (South) Responses identified: 1 / 1 View PDF

Assessing fitness to travel for direct repatriation requires medical expertise beyond a paramedic, and independent medical assessment should be considered in such cases.

Date 11 May 2015

56-day deadline 6 Jul 2015 est.

Responses identified 1 of 1

Other related deaths

Coroner's concerns

AI summary

Assessing fitness to travel for direct repatriation requires medical expertise beyond a paramedic, and independent medical assessment should be considered in such cases.

View full coroner's concerns

_ evidence disclosed that assessment of fitness to travel and of the manner in which the patient should be transported requires medical knowledge over and above that of a paramedic _ and that reliance should not be placed wholly on family members and hospitals in distant countries_ In cases involving direct repatriation without the facilities provided by an insurance company, consideration might be given to obtaining independent medical assessment Way, they The

Responses

1 respondent

Exora Medical Other

6 Jul 2015 PDF

Action Planned

Exora Medical will give consideration to obtaining a second and independent medical assessment in situations where facilities are not being provided by an insurance company for repatriation, especially from distant countries. (AI summary)

View full response

72 6 JUL 2015 ERO3A M € D ! C 4 L In the South London Coroners Court Inquest touching the death of John Lobo Response to Coroner's Regulation 28 Report Following the Inquest which took place on 21 April 2015, we reviewed the facts of this case against our company policies and presented a written statement which was provided to the Court on 27th April 2015. We now provide below our response to the Coroner's Regulation 28 Report dated 11
2015. Senior Coroner Selena Lynch has suggested that in cases involving direct repatriation of a patient without the facilities provided by an insurance company, consideration might be given to obtaining an independent medical assessment when assessing fitness for travel_ would stress that, in accordance with our company policy, obtaining confirmation of fitness to travel from a competent medical practitioner always has been, and remains, an absolute requirement of Exora Medical Limited when accepting instructions to transfer any patient_ In our experience, the medical practitioner who has treated the patient is usually best placed to assess a patient's fitness to travel_ Notwithstanding the above, going forward we shall give consideration to obtaining a second and independent medical assessment in situations where facilities are not being provided by an insurance company for repatriation especially in circumstances where the repatriation is taking place from distant country Exora Medical Limited srk . (Y(b(5 IMi Khiish Care Quality hau ndepandeni Dsckeur & NHST Commission IS09001 iaa J nuiisice Barring Servce JS 0LIaian Exora Medical Limited | Unit 9, Balmoral Storage, Clive Way, Watford, WD24 4PX Tel: 0845 47 505 44 Fax: 0845 47 505 45/www exoramedical.com info@exoramedical com Registered in England & Wales No: 08085826, VAT No. 138 9413 89 May We

Report sections

Investigation and inquest

On 9ih July 2014 commenced an investigation into the death of John Lobo, aged 77 years_ The investigation concluded at the end of the inquest on 215 April 2015. The conclusion of the inquest was that his death was accidental, The medical cause of death was 1a Bilateral bronchopneumonia 1b chronic obstructive airways disease Part Il Ischaemic heart disease; cervical spine fracture and diabetes mellitus

Circumstances of the death

On 15lh May 2014 Mr Lobo suffered a fall in his bathroom on the cruise ship Ventura; close to the Italian coast He suffered two further falls on the 19"h and 21s May 2014 which may have exacerbated the injury. He was then admitted to a hospital in Venice and was subsequently transferred to the United Kingdom in a private ambulance_ He was transported by road and his neck was not immobilised at all times during the journey A dispute with the insurance company meant that the family had to make a private arrangement for repatriation, and although the ambulance company were made aware that Mr Lobo had suffered a fracture at C7 wrongly recorded that the fracture was at T7 . The ambulance crew (which included a paramedic) were informed by the Italian hospital that he was fit to travel and should be immobilised at times of transfer only. There was no indication that the fracture was in fact unstable, which may have been as a result of language difficulties_ Translation services were available but not used: The evidence disclosed that transport by road was not appropriate, and that Mr Lobo should have been immobilised at all times, and these failures contributed to the cause of death;

Action should be taken

In my opinion action should be taken to prevent future deaths and believe you have the power to take such action

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Report details

Reference: 2015-0182
Date of report: 11 May 2015
Coroner: Selena Lynch
Coroner area: London (South)

Responses identified

Responses identified 1 of 1

All listed responses identified

Organisations named in PFD reports are normally expected to respond within 56 days. Deadline: 6 Jul 2015 (estimated).

Sent to

Exora Medical Limited

Source links

Judiciary.uk page → Report PDF →

Data: judiciary.uk under OGL.