A pensioner who presented to Cork University Hospital (CUH) with chest pains died of a heart attack after spending 10 hours on a trolley.
An inquest at Cork Coroner's Court heard James Holland (79), a father of five from Glanmire, arrived at CUH at about 3pm on April 10th last.
Mr Holland was experiencing chest pain and had been vomiting for three days prior to his admission. He was referred by South Doc and was triaged at the hospital. He was given an initial diagnosis of non-ST elevation myocardial infarction.
Dr Susan Harkin, medical senior house officer at CUH, gave evidence of admitting Mr Holland at 8.30pm. She said a five hour wait from presentation to admittance was standard at the hospital. The inquest heard Mr Holland was not classed as meeting the requirements for an emergency angiogram.
He was placed on a trolley three cubicles away from the nurses station. As a fit and active non-smoker, doctors determined he was stable and did not pose a major risk of cardiac arrest.
At 12.45am a nurse found Mr Holland unresponsive in the cubicle. Efforts were made to resuscitate him but he was pronounced dead at 1.20am on April 11th.
The coroner was told that Mr Holland had suffered a heart attack 20 years previously.
Dr Heather Cronin, cardiology registrar at CUH, said Mr Holland's condition was continuously reviewed by nurses. The monitoring machines used on patients such as Mr Holland are the same in an emergency cubicle as in a general ward. He was awaiting a bed in the coronary care unit at the time of his death.
Cardiac monitor
Dr Ronan Curtin, consultant cardiologist at CUH, said the wall mounted cardiac monitor was of no assistance to Mr Holland as he suffered a pulseless electrical activity cardiac arrest. Dr Curtin said there was no technology in place to detect such an arrest.
Dr Curtin said care received on a trolley is generally the same as care on a ward. He told the inquest that the HSE has a target time from admission to gaining a bed of 24 hours for individuals under the age of 80.
Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster said Mr Holland died of sudden cardiac death due to ischemic cardiomyopathy.
A verdict of natural causes was recorded in the case and Mr Comyn extended his condolences to the Holland family.