An inquest will be heard into a Cumbrian man’s death after his family raised concerns about delays in his care.
Anthony Hick, who lived near Cleator, died at Carlisle’s Cumberland Infirmary on January 26. He was aged 83.
He had been unwell for a number of days and was seen at home by the ambulance service on January 19.
But he was not admitted to hospital until January 24.
Mr Hick, a retired farmer, was diagnosed on January 25. But, at a hearing today, assistant coroner for Cumbria, Dr Nicholas Shaw, said: “By which time it seems that Mr Hick’s condition had deteriorated to such an extent that he was not going to survive.
“Family concerns have been raised and, on the basis of the investigation being undertaken so far, there do seem to have been significant delays which need explanation as they may have, in coronial terms, have more than ‘minimally, trivially or negligibly contributed to the death’. Therefore an inquest is to be heard.”
The provisional date for a full hearing is October 17.
