skip to main |
skip to sidebar
From the
Hull Daily Mail in the UK
The mother of a young man who died after battling a muscle wasting disease has claimed not enough was done to save his life.
Jon-Paul Walker (pictured), 23, died in Castle Hill Hospital, Cottingham, after spending almost his entire life battling Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
His mother Margaret Walker, of Withernsea, claims her son always wanted to be revived.
But, on the day of Jon-Paul's death, his regular consultant was not on duty and another took the final decision not to resuscitate him after trying to aid his breathing.
Now, she has contacted London-based Leigh Day and Company solicitors, with a view to making a claim against Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs Castle Hill.
Ms Walker, 43, said: "I believe he should have been resuscitated and the last thing he told me to do was fight.
"I'm not going to go away without a fight.
"He died before I got to the hospital.
"It states on his medical certificate that the decision was taken by the consultant not to resuscitate him and he died peacefully."
Ms Walker added: "He fought and fought for years and years.
"He always wanted to be resuscitated and nothing had changed.
"If that decision had not been taken, I think he would have probably still been here because he would have fought. I know he would."
Ms Walker said Jon-Paul had previously been resuscitated on numerous occasions and was "chatty and happy" just hours before he died.
Ms Walker said her son had been in the high dependency unit at Castle Hill for almost 18 months before his death on November 14, as an agreement could not be reached over what care he needed to return to at his own home in Anlaby.
Mike Wright, deputy chief executive and chief nurse at Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "Jon-Paul Walker was in the care of our trust for a significant amount of time.
"On behalf of everyone who cared for him and knew him and everyone at the trust, I would like to reiterate our sincere condolences to his family and friends.
"We have received no formal complaint from Ms Walker.
"But, clearly, if she would like to contact us, we will be able to respond to her accordingly."
