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England and Wales High Court (Administrative Court) Decisions |
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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> England and Wales High Court (Administrative Court) Decisions >> Jones v HM Coroner for the Southern District of Greater London & Anor [2010] EWHC 931 (Admin) (28 April 2010) URL: http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2010/931.html Cite as: [2010] Inquest LR 80, [2010] EWHC 931 (Admin) |
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Strand, London, WC2A 2LL |
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B e f o r e :
and
MR JUSTICE OWEN
____________________
GLENNYS JONES |
Claimant |
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- and - |
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HER MAJESTYS CORONER FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GREATER LONDON -and- DR DESHMINDER VIRDI |
Defendant Interested Party |
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WordWave International Limited
A Merrill Communications Company
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Mr Paul Matthews Solicitor-Advocate (instructed by Withers) for the Defendant
Hearing date: 3 March 2010
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Crown Copyright ©
Mr Justice Owen:
The deceased was born on 22 May 1982, and was 23 years of age at the date of his death. In June 2005 the deceased registered with Dr Virdi. He had a complex medical history in that he suffered from Asperger's syndrome, and had also been diagnosed with probable ileocolonic Crohn's disease. On 23 December 2005 he visited the South East London Doctors on Call out of hours doctors service (Seldoc) requesting oramorph, an oral preparation of morphine, for abdominal pain. He was prescribed oramorph, 10mgs four times a day for 25 days. But on 25 December 2005 the deceased telephoned the Bromley out of hours on-call doctor service requesting fentanyl patches. Fentanyl is a strong opioid painkiller, which the deceased had not previously been prescribed. The duty doctor prescribed two 72 hour 50 mcg/hr fentanyl transdermal patches.
"Serum fentanyl concentrations attained a range of 0.3 -- 1.2 mcg/l within 24 hours after application of a 25 mcg/hr transdermal patch; the ranges for the 50, 75 and 100 mcg/hr 0.6 - 1.8, 1.1 - 2.6, and 1.9 - 3.8 mcg/l respectively. Fentanyl concentrations in four adults who died from excessive use of transdermal fentanyl averaged 23 mcg/l(range 12-41) in blood and 233 mcg/l (range 89-449) in urine "
Dr Seet gave her opinion as to cause of death as being "1(a). Fentanyl toxicity, 2. Pneumonia".
"What I cannot explain and what no one else can explain is why, if he had the Fentanyl in the dose prescribed in slow release form, how did he manage to end up with the blood level of 60 mcg rather than expected level of somewhere between 2 or 3 point whatever it was?...
In the end, as is so often the case, one never does get to the bottom of exactly how something happened, how he came into possession of sufficient Fentanyl to give him a blood level of 60 mcg, which was approximately 15 to 20 times the fatal average dose, which was proved to be fatal according to this particular laboratory
Again, I end by saying I am so very sorry you lost your son and that you have not got all the answers you would like to have. I suspect we shall probably, however much you burrow; I suspect one will not find a complete answer as to how he came to have 60 mcg per litre of Fentanyl in his bloodstream at post-mortem. It is difficult to explain it on the basis of at most three patches on the evidence I have heard, unless he had secured a supply from some other source that we do not know about and for which there is no evidence left in the flat after his death when the police went to enquire."
"Review the evidence related to
concerns about the quality of care provided by the GP and OOH doctors.
The safety of controlled drug (CD) prescribing by the GP and OOH doctors.
Review the response of NHS Direct to phone calls from DJ."
Review the OOH policies and procedures related to -
CD prescribing.
responding to complaints.
investigating significant events.
Assess the quality of medical records of doctors who prescribe CDs.
Review the accuracy of information provided to the coroner by the GP.
Investigate any other areas identified as relevant to this investigation."
"This complex incident has its roots in deficiencies in the management of DJ by different doctors working in several organisations. The investigation has highlighted failures in relation to doctors' knowledge of controlled drug prescribing and consultation skills. It has also identified how the doctors' perceptions of their OOH responsibilities affected their management of this patient. In addition, there were system failures which related to controlled drug prescribing, identifying, auditing, and investigating significant events and SUIs, and in relation to new patient record reviews and repeat prescribing. Patient factors also contributed to the way DJ was managed by the doctors."
The claimant contends that by reason of insufficiency of the enquiry and of the new evidence which is now available, it is necessary and desirable in the interests of justice that another inquest be held. There are two limbs to the argument advanced on her behalf. First it is submitted that the inquest failed to discharge its primary function of investigating fully 'by what means' the deceased came by his death. Mr Nicholas Brown, who appeared for the claimant, argues that the defendant ought to have investigated how the deceased came to have such an extremely high concentration of fentanyl in his blood and urine, and in particular whether it is possible that such a high concentration could have been attributable to the use of the fentanyl patches that he had been prescribed. He further submits that if a full and proper investigation had been undertaken, there was at least the possibility of a different verdict, namely a verdict of accidental death rather than an open verdict. This limb of the argument raises the question of the proper scope of the inquest.
Section 13 of the 1988 Act provides, in so far as is relevant to this application, that
"(1) This section applies where, on an application by or under the authority of the Attorney-General, the High Court is satisfied as respects a coroner ("the coroner concerned") either
(a)
(b) where an inquest has been held by him, that (whether by reason of fraud, rejection of evidence, irregularity of proceedings, insufficiency of inquiry, the discovery of new facts or evidence or otherwise) it is necessary or desirable in the interests of justice that another inquest should be held.
(2) The High Court many
(a) order an inquest, or as the case may be, another inquest to be held into the death either
(i) by the coroner concerned; or
(ii) by the coroner for another district in the same administrative area;
(b) order the coroner concerned to pay such costs of and incidental to the application as to the court may appear just; and
(c) where an inquest has been held, quash the inquisition on that inquest.
(3) "
As Moses LJ observed in R (on the application of Sutovic) v HM Coroner for Northern District of Greater London and Sutovic v HM Coroner for Northern District of Greater London [2006] EWHC 1095 (Admin)
"The power contained in section 13(1)(b) is stated in very broad terms. The necessity or desirability of another inquest may arise by reasons of one of the listed matters or "otherwise". Notwithstanding the width of the statutory words, its exercise by the courts shows that the factors of central importance are an assessment of the possibility (as opposed to the probability) of a different verdict, the shortcomings in the original inquest, and the need to investigate matters raised by new evidence which had not been investigated at the inquest: see Re Rapier [1988] 1 QB 26, 34-35, 37H-38A, 39 per Woolf LJ and Simon Brown J; R v HM Coroner, Lincoln, ex p Hay. 19 February 1987; R v HM Coroner, Coventry, ex p O'Reilly. Times Law Reports, 3 April 1996; and R v Assistant Deputy Coroner for Northern District of London, ex p Bloom [2004] EWHC 3071 (Admin) "
(5) An inquisition
(a)
(b) shall set out, so far as such particulars have been proved
(i) who the deceased was; and
(ii) how, when and where the deceased came by his death; and
(c) "
And rule 36 of the Coroners Rules 1984 (the 1984 Rules) provides that:
"(1) The proceedings and evidence at an inquest shall be directed solely to ascertain the following matters, namely:
(a) who the deceased was;
(b) how, when and where the deceased came by his death;
(c) the particulars for the time being required by the Registration Act to be registered concerning the death.
(2) Neither the coroner nor the jury shall express any conclusion or in any other matters."
"(2) Both in s.11 (5)(b)(ii) of the Act of 1988 and in Rule 36 (1)(b) of the Rules of 1984, "how", is to be understood as meaning "by what means". It is noteworthy that the task is not to ascertain how the deceased died, which might raise general and far-reaching issues, but "how the deceased came by his death", a more limited question directed to the means by which the deceased came by his death.
(13) It is for the coroner alone to make reports with a view to preventing the recurrence of a fatality, that is the effect of Rules 36 (2) and 43.
(14) It is the duty of the coroner as the public official responsible for the conduct of inquests, whether he is sitting with a jury or without, to ensure that the relevant facts are fully, fairly and fearlessly investigated. He is bound to recognise the acute public concern rightly aroused where deaths occur in custody. He must ensure that the relevant facts are exposed to public scrutiny, particularly if there is evidence of foul play, abuse or inhumanity. He fails in his duty if his investigation is superficial, slipshod or perfunctory. But the responsibility is his. He must set the bounds of the inquiry. He must rule on the procedure to be followed. His decisions, like those of any other judicial officer, must be respected unless and until they are varied or overruled."
"Secondly, I wish to reject the argument advanced for the coroner that the applicants should not be granted relief since resumption of the inquests, if ordered, could lead to no useful result. The basis of this argument, founded on the recent decision of this Court in R v HM Coroner for North Humberside & Scunthorpe, ex parte Jamieson [1994] 3 WLR 82, was that the inquests could only investigate how the deceased came by their deaths, to which the only proper answer would be, as is already known, that they died by drowning following the collision between the Marchioness and the Bowbelle. Jamieson's case was specifically directed to the verdict of lack of care in the context of deaths in custody, but the Court's ruling was of wider application and it is true that if these inquests were to be resumed, the verdicts which the coroner could properly leave open to the jury at the end would be both limited and predictable. The Court did not, however, rule that the investigation into the means by which the deceased came by his death should be limited to the last link in the chain of causation. That would not be consistent with the Court's conclusion (14), which emphasised the need for a full, fair and fearless investigation and the exposure of relevant facts to public scrutiny, and it would defeat the purpose of holding an inquest at all if the inquiry were to be circumscribed in the manner suggested. It is for the coroner conducting an inquest to decide, on the facts of the given case, at what point the chain of causation becomes too remote to form a proper part of his investigation."
See also R (on the application of Catherine Smith) v Assistant Deputy Coroner for Oxfordshire [2009] EWCA Civ 441, [2009] 3 WLR 1099 at paragraph 82.
"If it appears to a coroner, either before he proceeds to hold an inquest or in the course of an inquest begun without a jury, that there is reason to suspect:
(a) ( )
(b) ( )
(c) ( ); or
(d) that the death occurred in circumstances, the continuance or possible occurrence of which is prejudicial to the health or safety of the public or any section of the public, he shall proceed to summon a jury in the manner required by subsection (2) above."
" Rule 36 should not be interpreted as to defeat the purpose of s.8 (3)(d) if 'the proceedings and evidence' are narrowly confined, the answers to the 'how' question will not serve the purpose of the section, the prevention or reduction of the risk of future injuries in similar circumstances."
"In circumstances where the scope of the inquest is limited to determining "by what means" David came by his death, the findings of Dr Seet and in particular, that the direct cause of death was Fentanyl toxicity (with pneumonia having a contributory effect) were sufficient to answer that question.
As mentioned in (1) above, the function of the inquest was to establish "by what means" David came by his death. This is answered by Fentanyl. Who prescribed it, or increased it, and in what dose, are not relevant."
"1. The defendant failed to investigate how the deceased came to have a post-mortem concentration of 60 mcg/l Fentanyl in his blood and a post-mortem concentration of 580 mcg/l in his urine... when on the evidence presented to him, the expected range of concentration in Fentanyl in blood after the application of a 100mcg/hr transdermal patch was 1.9 - 3.8 and the average Fentanyl concentrations in 4 adults who died from excessive use of transdermal fentanyl was 23mcg/l (range 12 -- 41) in blood and 233mcg/l (range 89 -- 449) in urine. The defendant did not call expert evidence from a toxicologist. The defendant did not seek appropriate expert evidence from a toxicologist. The defendant did not seek or call evidence from the US manufacturers of Fentanyl or the UK distributors. The defendant did not seek or adduce any appropriate evidence about Fentanyl or its potential complications beyond the expected range of concentration of Fentanyl in blood after the application of a Fentanyl transdermal patch or the expected fatal dose.
2. The defendant did not investigate how the deceased first came to be prescribed Fentanyl transdermal patches in December 2005 or how his prescription came to be increased from 50mcg/hr patches to 100mcg/hr patches. The defendant did not hear evidence from the doctors who prescribed this medication to the deceased. The defendant did not call these witnesses to give evidence.
3. The defendant did not fully investigate how the deceased came to be given a second prescription for 72 hour 100mcg/hr Fentanyl transdermal patches within 24 hours of the first such prescription being collected. "
4. The defendant did not investigate the beliefs, knowledge and practices of all the individual doctors who prescribed medication to the deceased between 23 December 2005 and 30 December 2005, or the contact which the deceased had with NHS Direct during this period fully or at all.
5. The defendant did not investigate any possible system deficiencies related to the policies and procedures of the different health care providers. The defendant did not seek or call any relevant evidence in relation to these issues.
6. The defendant did not investigate the information which was or might have been available to the prescribing doctors or other healthcare care staff with whom the deceased came into contact between 23 December 2005 and 30 December 2005 about the use of Fentanyl and the potential complications.
7. The defendant did not investigate when the deceased first suffered symptoms of Fentanyl toxicity, what those initial symptoms were, or how the deceased's condition probably deteriorated until he died. The defendant did not call appropriate expert evidence from a toxicologist in relation to these issues."
"In December 07 there were 36 deaths attributable to fentanyl. As of February 2010 the Medicine and Healthcare Regulatory Agency statistics show that in the last 12 months, there have been 76 fentanyl related deaths. The findings of inquests are vital to understanding the factors that contribute to such a significant increase in fentanyl related deaths. There is a continuing need to alert doctors to the indications for prescribing this drug, its contraindications and drug interactions, side effects and safe prescribing procedures."
Lord Justice Toulson: