Paul was born in 1955 and had an unfortunate start in life because he was born with the umbilical cord around his neck, which starved his brain of oxygen leaving him severely mentally disabled.

Paul was admitted to hospital on 31st December 2008 with a perforated bowel which required emergency major surgery. On completion of the operation Paul spent 21 days in intensive care where he was heavily sedated. Problems started when the sedation was reduced and he was prematurely put on to a general ward. During his time on the general ward there were many mishaps including loss of notes on arrival, lateness of critical medication, development of bed sores, long periods with no observations taken and the lack of identifying clear signs of deterioration.

In the latter hours of Paul’s life he was very clammy and despite medical staff being constantly informed of this and Paul showing signs of severe deterioration, it was ignored and put down to “agitation”. The medical staff did not take Paul’s mental disabilities into account or listen to his family and carers concerns and observations. This subsequently led to his death.

Paul died on the 23rd January 2009 and we were devastated at losing him. We knew there were so many questions to be answered concerning the last three days of Paul’s life. We sent a list of 23 questions regarding Paul’s care to the coroner, and a letter of complaint to the chief executive of ABM.

The Paul Ridd Foundation has been created to support adults with a learning disability and their families and carers when needing secondary care. We want to make a difference for people with a learning disability by raising general awareness of the issues they face when accessing good health care.

In order to raise funds, I will be participating in a skydive on the 5th of August, any donations will be greatly appreciated and all proceeds will go to the Paul Ridd Foundation.
Paul's story: http://paulriddfoundation.org
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