A HEARTBROKEN daughter claims her dad died after begging for help in A&E and a “clueless” nurse connecting the wrong breathing tube.
Rose Sunners says her dad Ronnie Sunners was “ignored” by staff when he was admitted to Royal Preston Hospital’s A&E department in January 8th 2025 with breathing troubles.
Rose Sunners claims her dad Ronnie died after huge hospital errors[/caption]
Ronnie had suffered with chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder[/caption]
The 34-year-old recalls after spending hours in a corridor the grandad-of-five was finally moved into a room and given a nebuliser he couldn’t use.
Rose, a registered care manager, says she found 71-year-old Ronnie gasping for breath and despite repeatedly begging staff to help was told he “wasn’t poorly enough” for them to intervene.
The mum-of-two said when he was finally taken to resuscitation a nurse admitted she hadn’t even seen this type of tubing before and was “trying to figure it out” before placing the breathing mask on him.
After 30 minutes, during which he repeatedly tried to take the mask off his face, Ronnie fell unconscious and stopped responding.
He tragically died just hours later on January 10th and his death was certified as being due to natural causes.
Rose, from North London, said: “Royal Preston Hospital ruined our last memories with our dad.
“All we saw was a scared man with tears in his eyes and the last words we heard him say was ‘I’m going to die if they don’t help me’.
“My dad begged us over and over to ask them for help.
“The staff later connected my dad to an NIV [non-invasive ventilation] machine to help him breathe, but they used the wrong tubing.
“I could see the nurse was trying to jigsaw puzzle this tubing together. I said ‘do you even know what you’re doing?’
“She looked at me with a smile on her face and said ‘we’ve never seen this type of tubing before, we’re just trying to figure it out’.
“For at least 30 minutes he was breathing back his own carbon dioxide.
“What haunts me most is what happened when the machine was first put on, he kept trying to pull the mask off his face.
“We were told by staff to move his hands away and stop him because ‘the machine was going to help him’.
“But now I can’t stop wondering ‘was he trying to take it off because he actually couldn’t breathe?’.”
Delay in reporting the error
Days after Ronnie’s funeral, his horrified family received a call saying there’d been an error with the tubing and an investigation had been carried out.
Ronnie had been struggling to breathe due to his chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) – a condition that occurs when the lungs become inflamed and damaged and the airways narrow.
Previous episodes were treated by hospital staff with steroids, but this time Ronnie was so worried, he asked Rose to drive 200 miles from London to be at his bedside.
Ronnie sadly died the day after attending A&E on January 10th.
Devastated, Rose claims there was a delay in reporting the error at the hospital, which is why his death certificate reports his death as from natural causes.
Rose said: “I work in the care sector. I’m fully aware that mistakes happen, we are human, but I think the most disgraceful part of it is the delay in reporting it.
Signs of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) makes breathing increasingly more difficult.
Because it develops over many years, you may not be aware you have it at first.
Most people with the condition don’t have any noticeable symptoms until they reach their late 40s or 50s.
Common symptoms include:
- shortness of breath – this may only happen when exercising at first, and you may sometimes wake up at night feeling breathless
- a persistent chesty cough with phlegm that does not go away
- frequent chest infections
- persistent wheezing
As symptoms gradually get worse over time they may make daily activities increasingly difficult, although treatment can help slow the progression.
You should go to A&E if you experience sudden worsening breathlessness, chest pain, confusion or drowsiness, a blue/grey tinge to your lips or nails, or a high fever.
Source: NHS
“They had a duty of candour, they should have told us there and then the mistake had happened and then we could have at least then prepared as a family, but they didn’t.
“They held the information for seven days and didn’t report it. We signed the death certificate off as natural causes.
“The wrong tubing was used and, from what I know, there’s no exhalation port on these tubes meaning my dad would have consistently breathed his own carbon dioxide in.
“I just feel so let down, these errors were clearly avoidable. I don’t think it’s the NHS staff to blame, I feel sorry for them as well.
“The protocols in the hospital need to change and staff need more training.
“The hospital now admits the error but claims the harm was only ‘moderate’ and suggests he may not have improved anyway because of his underlying illness. That is not accountability. That is an excuse.
“What hurts us even more is that the hospital’s report claims that before resus he was given a litre of oxygen, this isn’t true.
Ronnie with his daughters Rose (left) and Stacie (right)[/caption]
Ronnie with his granddaughters Macie (left) and Daisy (right)[/caption]
“When Dad’s final moments came, the lack of dignity was unforgivable.
“As he lay dying, surrounded by his family, two staff members walked into his bay and started a training session on a machine in the corner.
“I know it’s long-winded for us as a family speaking out about this, but if it can stop this pain from hitting anyone else, I’d go through it all over again.”
A Lancashire Teaching Hospitals spokesperson said: “We offer our sincere condolences to the family and friends of Ronald Sunners and unreservedly apologise for the experience in January. We also apologise for delays in communication which have caused additional distress.
“An internal investigation has now concluded and Mr Sunners’ family have been assigned an experienced colleague who has taken them through the findings of this and will keep in touch with the family to ensure any further questions and feedback can be meaningfully heard and responded to.
“We welcome the independent scrutiny of the coroner and are fully committed to applying any learning identified from both the investigation and any future inquest.
“Feedback from patients and their families about the care and treatment they receive is important and we would always encourage patients or their families to contact our Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) to discuss any concerns they have, so that any issues can be resolved as soon as possible.”