NHS accused of ‘covering-up’ particulars of grandfather’s demise after nurse didn’t name ambulance when 65-year-old collapsed

An NHS trust has been accused of ‘covering-up’ the details of a man’s death after a nurse did not call an ambulance when the 65-year-old grandfather collapsed. 

Hospital manager Nicholas Ginger was on a video call with agency worker Jackie Chatterton when he dropped to the ground after suffering a bleed on the brain. 

But rather than calling the emergency services, Ms Chatterton sent a message to her line manager, Christine Lawrence, via Teams, which failed to send for several hours.

The grandfather-of-five from Southampton was found by his family and died three days later. 

Mr Ginger’s daughter, Maria Burgess, now wants answers from University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, who her father had worked for for nearly 20 years. 

She told the Telegraph there were ‘outrageously different accounts’ about what had happened to her father during the video call on November 30, 2022. 

Winchester Coroner’s Court heard that Ms Chatterton had met with Mr Ginger for an online consultation through the hospital’s occupational health service following a period of sick leave to discuss the possible return to his job as a manager overseeing planning and modernisation. 

The court heard the pair had joked about Mr Ginger ‘popping his clogs’, which Ms Chatterton said she didn’t want him to do. 

Hospital manager Nicholas Ginger (pictured) was on a video call with agency worker Jackie Chatterton when he collapsed after suffering a bleed on the brain

Mr Ginger worked as a manager overseeing planning and modernisation at the hospital 

The grandfather of five from Southampton was found by his family later in the day of the online video call via the hospital’s occupational health team and he died three days later

Ms Chatterton said while she was typing, Mr Ginger slid from view and she said she thought he was upset by the news he would not be able to return to work soon.

But instead of calling an ambulance, she sent a message to Ms Lawrence which failed to deliver for four hours. 

Six hours after the call ended, Mr Ginger’s son, David, found him unconscious on the sofa and immediately called an ambulance. Mr Ginger was taken to hospital, where his family were told he had bleeding and swelling on his brain and was unlikely to survive.  

He died three days after he was taken into hospital. 

Following her father’s death, Mrs Burgess reported Ms Chatterton and Ms Lawrence to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) – something which she says was the hospital’s responsibility. 

She claims the hospital’s failure to self-refer to the NMC was done ‘in order to further cover up what happened to protect their reputation’. 

During the inquest, Mrs Burgess told Ms Chatterton that she had a ‘duty of care’ which she had ‘failed to execute’. 

‘You say you attempted to send a Teams message before 11am and that you failed to notice it had not sent until gone 3pm’, she said. ‘How were you able to get on with your day for more than four hours, having thought that you had witnessed a medical emergency, without seeking an immediate response’. 

The grandfather of five collapsed during the call with Jackie Chatterton  

Mr Ginger suffered a bleed on the brain and was at home for hours before he was discovered 

Rosamund Rhodes-Kemp, the area coroner for Hampshire recorded a verdict of death by natural causes at Winchester Coroner’s Court (pictured)

Rosamund Rhodes-Kemp, the area coroner for Hampshire recorded a verdict of death by natural causes but added that it was ‘impossible to reconcile’ Ms Chatterton’s evidence with events. 

Initially, Ms Chatterton said Mr Ginger had been struggling at the end of the call, but she later changed her wording and said he had been ‘struggling emotionally’.  

‘I find it impossible to reconcile the various strands of evidence given by [Ms Chatterton]’, she said. ‘She suggested calling an ambulance to her line manager but insisted the issue was emotional not physical. 

‘Why suggest an ambulance for an emotional episode, why use the word collapse to ensure her line manager prioritised the call?’

Ms Rhodes-Kemp also criticised the NHS Trust over two reports of the incident, one of which said there was no evidence Mr Ginger had suffered a serious injury at the end of the call, and one which said there was. 

A spokesman for the trust told the Telegraph improvements have been made to the occupational health processes as a result of the incident, and that they are committed to ‘thoroughly revisiting all the information presented to the court and to share the findings with Mr Ginger’s family’.  

MailOnline has contacted University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust for comment.