A 30-year-old man who died last month in one of Britain’s main hospitals would still be alive if ‘Martha’s rule’, which gives the right to a second opinion, had been in force, his father says.
Balram Patel, who was described by his father as “happiness personified,” died on August 9 at St. Thomas Hospital. Balram had multiple disabilities and was developmentally delayed, which caused him to behave more like an eight-year-old. Jay Patel, 58, claimed that when his son became ill, he was given inappropriate treatment, which had not worked for him before, and was denied a second opinion. As a result, he said, Balram’s lungs became fatally submerged.
To make matters worse, pulmonary edema (buildup of fluid in the lungs) was not initially listed as a cause of death and was only recorded as such after Patel intervened at the coroner’s office.
The coroner’s office has told him it is “opening an investigation regarding the care and delay in treatment provided.”
Patel said: “I love my NHS, Balram was here for 30 years because of the NHS. Sadly, he died before his time in pain and suffering in a very inappropriate way because of the same NHS.
“I am shocked by the loss of my baby. I couldn’t do what was necessary to turn the tide and I literally tried everything.”
Patel said his son, “who was born with a half-functioning heart,” was initially treated with oral diuretics (which reduce the build-up of fluid in the body) at St. Thomas after he fell ill, but because they did not work he switched the doctors about. for intravenous (IV) diuretics.
Following a Covid outbreak, it was decided that Balram would be transferred home due to his vulnerabilities, but no community nurses could be found to administer the IV diuretics at home.
As a result, it was agreed that the diuretics could be administered via an alternative method, using a syringe pump to diffuse through the tissue rather than directly into the bloodstream as is the case with IV.
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Patel said he found a bariatric surgeon, who was a close family friend, who was willing to administer this alternative method at home, but he was never contacted, and a nursing agency, which was also not contacted.
Instead, doctors decided that Balram would be discharged on oral diuretics, despite Patel’s opposition, given his son’s previous experiences with them. He said he asked for a second opinion but was denied.
“If Martha’s Law had been introduced and in a way that would allow for a quick response to the second opinion sought, I am sure Balram would not have died when he did,” he said.
Days after Balram was discharged, he began to retain fluid and on August 7, Patel called the hospital several times. He said his pleas that the oral diuretics were not working were ignored, and although a nurse told him a consultant would call back, they never did.
When he took his son to St. Thomas’ emergency room on Aug. 8, he said an X-ray taken shortly before 7 p.m. showed his son’s lungs had been flooded. However, Patel said that despite his multiple requests, the IV diuretic was not started until around 1am. Balram stopped breathing at about 4 a.m. and was pronounced dead about 40 minutes later.
Patel has founded a group called Patients Lives Matter in memory of Balram and to help others.
The government has said it is determined to impose Martha’s rule after a campaign by the parents of 13-year-old Martha Mills, who died in hospital after developing sepsis.
A spokesperson for Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust said: “We would like to express our deepest condolences to Balram’s family. Balram had incredibly complex health needs and had been in our care all his life, during which he was cared for by an extensive multidisciplinary team. Any concerns raised by the family will be fully investigated.”