My son, 22, died hours after A&E doctors missed fatal diagnosis and let him go home – he was my baby

A DISABLED man tragically died just hours after A&E doctors let him leave without blood tests or a proper diagnosis.

Billy Longshaw, 22, died on March 7 last year, less than 24 hours after being released from an emergency department.

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Billy Longshaw died only hours after he discharged himself from hospital[/caption]

The man – who’s mum said “he was still our baby” – was allowed to discharge himself from hospital despite having “severe learning difficulties”.

Billy was born with D-2-hydroxyglutaric aciduria – a rare condition that causes progressive damage to the brain, affects muscle tone, speech, vision and memory.

The lad – from Heaton Norris in Stockport, Greater Manchester – went to the Great Western Hospital in Swindon after having sudden abdominal pain and vomiting on a car journey.

He was assessed by a junior doctor in A&E who found everything to be normal.

But tragically, Billy was in fact suffering with ‘sigmoid volvulus’ – a twisted intestine which would quickly turn fatal.

In a report to prevent future deaths written after the inquest, coroner Chris Morris raised concerns about the hospital’s failure to diagnose the fatal condition.

He said Billy had been allowed to leave “without basic blood tests being taken, any diagnosis being made, or serious abdominal pathology being fully excluded”.

He added: “On the balance of probabilities, the sigmoid volvulus which led to Mr Longshaw’s death was present (albeit at an early stage) when he was assessed in Swindon.”

Mr Morris stressed Billy should not have been allowed to leave and that junior doctors needed “adequate” training on the Mental Capacity Act.

The coroner noted there was a “missed opportunity” to consider issues surrounding patients with significant learning difficulties discharging themselves from hospital.

He slammed the process used in this scenario as “obviously flawed”.

Mr Morris concluded that Billy died of acute bowel obstruction, a twisted intestine and heart problems brought on by his pre-existing condition.

Speaking at the pre-inquest hearing in July last year, his mum Caroline Bird, said: “He loved riding his bike.

“He was a character, he was funny, he was over six foot but he was still our baby.”

She said she had a record of achievements for Billy, which showed off all he could do and said: “He made the best of his life.”

A spokesperson for Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in Swindon, said: “We would like to offer our sincere condolences to Mr Longshaw’s family following his sad death.

“We have reviewed our procedures and have put extra measures in place to safeguard patients from being prematurely discharged.

“We provide our staff with training on how to support patients with learning disabilities or other complex needs and we are looking at ways to improve this.”