A St Martin’s pensioner's death could have been prevented if an MRI scan had been carried out, and inquest has heard.

John Robert Roberts passed away on Friday, March 3, at The Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

The inquest was opened at Shirehall in Shrewsbury by the chief coroner for Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, John Ellery on Tuesday, November 28, but adjourned to Tuesday, December 19.

Mr Roberts’ family, Jason Roberts, his son and his wife Josephine Roberts attended the hearing remotely, as did John White, the family’s solicitor solicitor from the family and Trisha McSkeane, the head of legal services at the Shrewsbury & Telford Hospitals Trust (SaTH).

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The court heard that Mr Roberts, was admitted to the hospital on Monday, February 20, due to previous medical issues.

His health deteriorated and he suffered from pneumonia but was sent home after.

Mr Ellery heard that Mr Roberts had to return to the hospital after he fell and hit his head at home, resulting in a cut and a bruise.

According to the report there was a more than three-hour delay before an ambulance was able to take him to hospital, but the court heard that when Mr Roberts arrived at The Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, X-rays and a CT scan were carried out but did not show any signs of further injury.

A subsequent internal investigation conducted by the hospital, however,  revealed that had an MRI scan been carried out, it would have uncovered a neck injury, potentially resulting in a different outcome.

Mr Ellery concluded the 84-year-old man died from pneumonia due to respiratory insufficiency and an injury that was not detected during the fall.

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Mr Ellery said: “The natural death became unnatural, it was preventable.”

He extended his condolences to the family, who accepted the report findings.

The coroner concluded that on the balance of probabilities if the MRI would have been conducted Mr Roberts’ death could have been avoided.

Hayley Flavell, Director of Nursing at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH), said: “We would like offer our deepest condolences to the family of Mr Roberts.

"We are committed to improving the quality of care that we provide and lessons have been learned from Mr Roberts’s care. 

"New measures include a face-to-face senior Emergency Department doctor review prior to referral for frailty assessments and relocation of the trauma and orthopaedic ward to the ground floor.”