Man dies after hospital refuses to feed him for 9 days

An investigation has found that a 56-year-old man with Down syndrome died in a British hospital after he wasn’t fed for nine days.

According to the BBC, the man died in 2021 after what has been described as “shocking mismanagement” by medical professionals at Poole General Hospital in Dorset. The man, who had Down syndrome and dementia, was admitted to the hospital with a broken hip. He then ended up dying from pneumonia, after he wasn’t given any food or fluids for nine days.

The man’s family launched an investigation following his death. Allegations against the hospital maintained that its failure to properly care for the man led to “his subsequent severe deterioration and death.” After six months, the NHS Litigation Authority, NHS Resolution found the hospital’s actions did fail to provide adequate care, saying “on balance of probability, the admitted breach of duty caused a deterioration… and he would not have died when he did.”