“2”

The coroner’s concerns

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6 Patients are unfortunately waiting increasingly longer times in emergency departments – not just in waiting areas, but also after being seen by clinical staff and waiting for admission to a ward or discharge from the hospital. During this time, current policies do not require VTE risk assessment. The policy for this trust suggests that the 24 hour period (during which VTE risk assessment must take place) starts only when a patient is “admitted” to hospital, i.e. when a decision is taken to admit them to a ward – which could be many hours after they have originally attended the emergency department. The policy as currently drafted implies that VTE risk assessment is essentially not relevant for emergency department patients. If current policies require VTE risk assessment to take place within 24 hours, the point at which that 24 hour period starts is not sufficiently clear and does not take long waits in emergency departments into account. I am concerned that policies may need to reflect the current reality on the ground. I suspect that this issue may be a national one.

An extract. Read the full report, including the circumstances of the death, on the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary website.

Source

judiciary.uk, Prevention of Future Deaths reports, 2024-0226

Added to Minute Book

8 Oct 2026

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Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, judiciary.uk. Open Government Licence v3.0