Hospital death widow's plea over 'lack of care'

Hospital death widow's plea over 'lack of care'

Kieran Molloy - Local Democracy Reporting Service

Fri, January 9, 2026 at 3:45 PM UTC

2 min read

The entrance to Furness General Hospital. A blue sign shows directions to different departments in front of a road heading down to the main entrance, above which is a sign containing the hospital's name. A white car and an ambulance are parked outside. Scaffolding sits on an upper part of the low, brick-built building. — The trust running the Furness General Hospital said it will make changes in light of the concerns [BBC]

The widow of a man who died following a fall at a hospital has told health bosses she wants to see change implemented rather than make a formal complaint.

John Hatfield, 79, died after an operation to his hip joint which was damaged in an unwitnessed fall while at Furness General Hospital (FGH) in Barrow, Cumbria.

At a meeting of the University Hospital of Morecambe Bay Trust's (UHMBT) board of directors, which runs the hospital, his widow Gabrielle said she would "like to see a change across every ward and department" to address a "lack of care".

Sarah Rees, non-executive director and chair of the quality assurance committee, said she felt disappointed by what had happened to Mr Hatfield.

Mr Hatfield was admitted to FGH after a fall at home in September 2024.

Two months later, he suffered an unwitnessed fall in a hospital observation bay after the supervision nurse left to arrange cover.

Despite surgical intervention and rehabilitation efforts, Mr Hatfield died on 31 December 2024.

Major weight loss

Wednesday's meeting of the trust board heard several actions had been identified and implemented, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

They include developing a protocol for staff breaks to ensures continuous patient observation and more training to improve handover procedures.

The meeting was also told Mrs Hatfield had not been aware of the Care Partner Programme, which would have allowed her to assist her husband at meal times.

Mr Hatfield's family said they had been aware of his weight loss and had discussed it with the hospital on "multiple occasions".

Documents presented to the meeting said: "Mr Hatfield lost around 3.5 to 4 stone (22.2kg to 25.4kg) whilst in FGH and Mrs Hatfield feels that if she had been made aware [of the programme] she could come in and assist him at mealtimes, this would have benefited him."

Mrs Hatfield told the board she did not wish to make a formal complaint about her husband's care, but she wanted changes to practices at the hospital.

"It's a hard thing for his three children," she said.

"It's the lack of care, that's the shame of it."

Director Rees told Mrs Hatfield: "I'm really sorry for the experience you and your husband have had."

Interim Chief Nursing Officer Lynne Wyre, who accompanied Mrs Hatfield, said the ward was "shaken by what happened" and the incident was "widely discussed at the time".

She added lessons the trust should learn were "more about re-enforcing what we're expected to do".

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Hospital death widow's plea over 'lack of care'

Hospital death widow's plea over 'lack of care'

Major weight loss

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