lifestyle
Antequera stroke case could lead to change in hospital A&E procedures
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A 44-year-old man died after suffering a stroke in the hospital waiting room without anyone noticing
The regional minister for Health, Marina Álvarez, said last week that the guidelines followed by hospital accident and emergency departments could change if an inquiry into the death of a man in Antequera finds shortcomings in the system.
Ángel Burgos, 44, went to the emergency department at Antequera hospital on 11 January complaining of a headache, disorientation and high blood pressure.
After an initial consultation, tests were ordered and he was told to wait for the results. Meanwhile the colleague who had taken him to the hospital went back to work.
Some five hours after his arrival, hospital staff, alerted by another patient, found that he had suffered a stroke in the waiting room.
He underwent surgery at Malaga's Carlos Haya hospital but died a week later.
The hospital said that as he failed to answer when he was called again to see the doctor, it was assumed that he had left.
Other patients in the waiting room had thought that he had fallen asleep.
The man's family has filed a case for negligence at the local court and the case has also been taken up by the Andalusian ombudsman's office.
Meanwhile, depending on the results of the inquiry, the Andalusian health service could review its procedure in the case of patients waiting alone in the accident and emergency departments.
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