'Awareness is needed to stop deaths like my son's'

Charlie Lander died in June 2022 after swallowing a plastic medical glove

The family of a Surrey man with a rare eating disorder who died after he swallowed a plastic medical glove say better awareness is needed of severe learning disabilities in hospitals.

Charlie Lander, 48, from Virginia Water, died in hospital in June 2022 due to a small bowel obstruction having been admitted after swallowing the glove.

An inquest found that Mr Lander, who has Pica syndrome – which means people crave eating non-food items – died in a "medical misadventure contributed to by neglect".

A report into the deaths of people with learning disabilities found people with learning disabilities were twice as likely to die an avoidable death than the general population.

Mr Lander's mother, Rosalie, said better awareness about how people with severe learning disabilities present could help avoid further death, adding that her son's death was "preventable".

The mother, a retired GP from West Byfleet, said: "I didn't realise how ill he was, and I don't think the hospital did either."

Alex, Mr Lander's sister, added: "These people's lives are important and we have a responsibility to protect people like Charlie as part of our society."

Charlie Lander's mother, Rosalie, and sister, Alex, are calling for greater awareness

An inquest in February heard that Mr Lander was rushed to St Peter's Hospital in Chertsey but was discharged on two occasions.

During his third admission, Mr Lander suffered a heart attack on his own while a hospital carer was on a break.

The coroner concluded that leading up to Mr Lander's death, "the need for urgent surgery to relieve the obstruction which would have prevented his death was not undertaken".

Dr Mark Roland, chief medical officer at Ashford and St Peter's Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, apologised for failings in his care.

"Our thoughts remain with Mr Lander's family and loved ones," he said.

Dr Roland added that the trust was committed to reducing health inequalities for individuals with learning disabilities and had made significant improvements to care.

'Unacceptable'

The latest Learning from Lives and Deaths Report (LeDeR), which shows data for 2023, found that on average, people with a learning disability die 19.5 years younger than the general population.

Nearly 60% of deaths covered in the report were for people who died before age of 65.

More than a third of the deaths were also classed as "avoidable" – nearly double the rate of the general population – but this fell by 4.2%, from 43% in 2022 to 38.8% in 2023.

The LeDeR programme was established in 2015 to review the deaths of people with a learning disability and autistic people in England.

Calling the findings of the report "unacceptable", minister for care Stephen Kinnock said: "The number of deaths reviewed this year remains small, although the findings are very concerning.

"It is crucial we improve our understanding of deaths of autistic people.

"We expect that with increased awareness of the ability to report these deaths, we can then take specific action to address issues raised."

St Peter's Hospital was approached for comment.