Áras Attracta resident died from natural causes, inquest finds

Inquest finds no culpability despite severe malnutrition of 72-year-old

Anton McNulty

A FORMER resident of Áras Attracta, whose post mortem showed he suffered from malnutrition, died from natural causes with staff praised for the way in which he was cared.
A Garda investigation was launched into the death of 72-year-old Albert Loughney, when a post-mortem in 2012 found that severe dehydration and malnutrition were contributing factors to his death.
The former resident of Áras Attracta died in Mayo University Hospital on November 18, 2012, with the cause of death recorded as sepsis due to acute bronchitis, bronchiolitis with early bronchopneumonia.
The inquest into his death took place yesterday in Castlebar and heard that Mr Loughney had learning difficulties as well as mental health issues and ‘was obsessed about food and medication’.
Retired geriatric consultant, Professor Cillian Twomey, was asked by the DPP to carry out a review of Mr Loughney’s case files. He found that while Mr Loughney suffered from malnutrition, he had always suffered from malnutrition because of his condition and not due to the care he received.
Mr Loughney fell ill with a chest infection on November 15, 2012 and was prescribed antibiotics over the phone by the doctor on call. There was no improvement in his health and the duty GP, Dr TomΡs Ó Ceallaigh, was called.
In his evidence, Dr Ó Ceallaigh said Mr Loughney looked emaciated and asked staff if there was an end of life plan in place for him. He was transferred by ambulance to Mayo University Hospital where he died in the early hours of November 18.
Mr Michael O’Connor, counsel for Mr Loughney’s next of kin, had questioned if he had been transferred to hospital at a sooner date, would he have survived his illness? However, Professor Twomey told the inquest that it was his view that Mr Loughney was treated well by the staff in Áras Attracta and would still not have survived even if he had been brought to hospital sooner.
‘Elderly man’
“Mr Loughney died because he was an elderly man,” he told the inquest. “He had significant intellectual challenges and the risk for illness is very high and the threshold to fight them is very low. The infections you and I may bat away are not the same for someone like Mr Loughrey.”
The inquest heard that Mr Loughney was 48kg on admission to Áras Attracta in 1999 and was 44kg when he died. For the last two years of his life his mobility decreased and he started to suffer from bed sores. Prof Twomey said it was a credit to the staff on Áras Attracta that, given how thin he was, he did not suffer from worse sores to his skin.
‘Hard life’
The inquest heard that Mr Loughney lived in Ballina in his early years but had a hard life after the death of his parents when he was sent to an industrial school in Galway. He was one of five siblings, none of whom married and he was the last of them to die.
He lived with his aunt Marcella Moyles and her husband Pat Moyles in Crossmolina where he worked on the farm. In the late 1970s he lived with Pat Moyles’s brother, Tom in Gortskaddia, Crossmolina until 1987 when he started living in Bohola as part of the ‘Boarding Out’ Scheme. He was only five feet in height and was reviewed by a dietician in 2010 who recommended a support plan of supplementary drinks for when his diet intake was poor. Josephine Lynsky, the Clinical Nurse Manager at Áras Attracta, said that depending on his mood, staff used encouragement and diversionary tactics to persuade him to eat or drink.
Another Clinical Nurse Manager, Mary P Gallagher, said Mr Loughney was obsessed with food, never ate a complete meal and would spit out lumpy food. It was stated that he was well liked by the staff.
Dr Tomas Nemeth, Consultant Pathologist who performed the post mortem, said he was concerned with the findings as he had never seen malnutrition like it before and it was not a usual occurrence for a person who is in care.
In his findings, Coroner for Mayo, Mr Patrick O’Connor, said it was regrettable that the inquest had taken so long to complete. He described Mr Loughney as one of ‘life’s special people’ who needed care all his life but was fortunate to receive that care from family members as well as the state.
Mr O’Connor said it was not the role of the inquest to speculate on whether Mr Loughney would have survived if he went to hospital sooner but he hoped lessons will be learned from the death. He recorded a verdict of death by natural causes and expressed sympathy with Mr Loughney’s next of kin.