A 52-year-old man passed away just three days after he was discharged from hospital, an inquest heard.
Colin Crawford had taken a fall in the bathroom of his Bentilee home and required an operation at Royal Stoke University Hospital to remove a ‘substantial’ shard of glass from his right thigh.
He was initially taken to hospital on December 6 and discharged two days later.
He sadly died a few days later on December 11 due to natural causes, Stoke-on-Trent Live reports.
Speaking at an inquest into the death, nephew Dean Hurst said: “He called me from the hospital. He was going for surgery to remove the shard from his leg. He was discharged on December 8.
"On December 10, he went out for a walk to his local shop. When I phoned him he was in good spirits. On December 11, he went to a closer shop. He collapsed on the floor.
“His neighbour went shopping and came back and found him on the sofa passed away with his phone in his hand calling an ambulance. He was trying to phone for help.”
The inquest heard paramedics were unable to save Colin.
One of the paramedics said: “His phone was on the table next to him, different people were trying to make contact with him. There was a call to 999 at 9.51am lasting two minutes and 54 seconds.”
The 999 call has never been traced and remains a mystery to West Midlands Ambulance Service.
Coroner’s officer Lisa Fairhurst added: “Enquiries were made and they never received the call. A silent 999 call was made on the morning of his death - there weren't signs indicating help was required.”
Medical tests revealed Colin, who lived on Glenfield Way, died due to a right leg injury.
Royal Stoke orthopaedic surgeon Anna Bennett said: “He was admitted through A&E on December 6 where he was assessed.
"He'd had an accident at home after arriving home from the pub. There was a substantial piece of glass in his right thigh. He had X-rays and a CT scan.
“The glass was removed. It was decided to delay the discharge to monitor the swelling. He was discharged with antibiotics and a follow-up appointment.”
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