Patient died after falling out of bed - coroner

Edwin Price was an inpatient at Yeovil Hospital being treated for diabetes

A coroner has recommended patients at a hospital be assessed for their risk of falls within 24 hours of arrival, after a man died from his injuries when he fell out of bed.

Edwin Price, 71, died after a fall onto the floor while being treated at Yeovil Hospital in November. A falls risk assessment was not carried out within 24 hours of his admission, an inquest in August heard.

He lived in a nursing home where measures were put in place to protect him if he fell out of bed, said Somerset Coroner Vanessa McKinlay.

She issued Somerset NHS Foundation Trust with a prevention of future deaths report to ensure assessments are done. The trust said it had "taken steps to address the points raised".

The conclusion of the inquest was that Mr Price "died having sustained injuries in a fall in hospital, to which gaps in his falls risk assessment and management made a contribution", the report said.

Mr Price lived at The Knoll Nursing Home in Yeovil, where he had fallen out of bed about 20 times previously, according to the coroner's report.

The nursing home had given him a low-rise bed and used a crash mat on the floor to minimise the risk of injury.

When he was admitted to hospital in September 2024, a falls risk assessment was not carried out within the first 24 hours of Mr Price's admission to a ward.

If it had been, the coroner said, the ward would have found out about the measures in place at the nursing home to protect him from falling out of bed, and could have implemented the same measures at the hospital.

A spokesperson for Somerset NHS Foundation Trust said: "We want to extend our sincere condolences to Edwin's family at this difficult time.

"We note the coroner's report, and we are already taking steps to address the points raised in relation to prompt and effective falls risk assessments and to improve our communication with families and other providers to support these.

"We will write to the coroner shortly to outline the improvements we are making."