Doctors disagree on cause of ex-JP’s death

An inquest into the death of a former Oldham magistrate Ronald Halliwell (85) was adjourned for a second time after a doctor questioned the findings of a pathologist.

The first hearing was adjourned on May 15 to get more information from the Royal Oldham Hospital after Mr Halliwell’s wife, Mary, expressed concerns about the level of care he received at the hospital.

She believed he had a fall during his stay there and wanted more information from staff.

Mr Halliwell stayed at Limecroft Care Centre, in Limeside, and Longwood Lodge, in Glodwick, due to his advanced dementia. He also needed injections every three months for problems for prostate cancer and, as a result of arthritis, walked with a stick after a hip replacement in 2003.

Maureen Ward, manager of Longwood Lodge, said Mr Halliwell often expressed fear that he might fall, and often he did slip and fall from his bed.

On May 3, Mr Halliwell was taken to the Royal Oldham Hospital after an examination by Dr Kate Buckley showed that he had a mass in his stomach.

Blood tests showed that Mr Halliwell was dehydrated and there was deterioration in his kidney function. The mass in his abdomen was a result of constipation.

Surgeon Tamsin Gray insisted Mr Halliwell had not suffered from any falls during his stay in hospital, on ward T5, and suggested that the minor bruises on his body may have been the result of bumping against the cot sides on his bed.

Pathologist Dr Brian Benatar said the cause of death as bronchial pneumonia due to immobility caused by fractured neck of femur — a hip fracture — which was questioned by Miss Gray.

When asked if hip replacements can fracture, Miss Gray said: “They can move or dislocate but they don’t tend to fracture. It looks exactly the same as the X-ray he had in August, 2012, from another fall.”

Miss Grey said that there were concerns for Mr Halliwell’s left leg after that but he quickly got back up and there was no difference between the two X-rays of the hip, though there were some changes around the hip.

She added: “I can’t explain how Dr Benatar reaches his conclusion.”

Assistant coroner Lisa Hashmi adjourned the inquest until September 12 in order to question Dr Benatar further.