Salford Royal Hospital: Man died after 'appalling' error

Salford Royal Hospital have apologised to the family of grandfather William Hannah (left)

A seriously ill grandfather had his lungs accidentally washed out with cleaning detergent at an NHS hospital, a report has revealed.

William Hannah, 68, of Bolton, died the day after the botched procedure, though it is not yet known if it contributed to his death in September 2017.

He was being treated at Salford Royal Hospital after being hit by a car.

The hospital said Mr Hannah "did not receive the high standard of care we pride ourselves on delivering".

Mr Hannah's family have instructed lawyers ahead of an inquest into his death at Bolton Coroner's Court in February.

His daughter Lisa, 44, said: "This is supposed to be an outstanding hospital but this was an appalling and unbelievable mistake.

"Our dad didn't deserve to have this happen to him and that's why we are trying to ensure that no other families suffer as we have."

After suffering a traumatic brain injury and multiple fractures in the car accident, Mr Hannah was moved to the critical care unit and placed on a ventilator.

Due to a communication error Lancer neutral detergent solution (middle) was used instead of the usual Endozime AW (left)

When a doctor tried to improve his breathing he was mistakenly handed a bottle containing detergent mixture to wash out Mr Hannah's lungs.

According to an internal investigation report by Salford Royal Hospital, a second, "thorough washout of the right lung" was carried out when the error was realised.

The serious incident report by Salford NHS bosses concluded multiple factors led to the mistake.

"These factors include - un-stocked trolley; distraction by other life critical tasks; lack of clear two-way communication; no labelling of bottle; inadequate staff training and lack of... risk assessment," it said.

The report also noted that "the clinical impact of the errors on the patient is unknown at this point".

Dr Pete Turkington, medical director from Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust, said a "comprehensive investigation" into Mr Hannah's care found that "he did not receive the high standard of care we always pride ourselves on delivering".

He said the trust had apologised and had "introduced new measures to ensure something like this will not happen again."