THE family of a 95-year-old grandfather killed by a fall has questioned at his inquest why he was allowed to be discharged early from hospital.

Doctors admitted that William Green's injuries had been misdiagnosed, but said that a correct diagnosis would not have been likely to have made a difference as to whether he was admitted.

Carol Mills, the daughter of Mr Green, asked doctors why her father had not been admitted for further treatment.

Mr Green, a retired printer at Westminster Press, died at his Perry's Lane home in Wroughton on August 5 last year after falling downstairs.

He had lived there with his wife, Kathleen for 58 years.

She found him conscious on the floor with one leg on the stairs, the other twisted around the bottom of the stairs and his head under a small table.

An ambulance took him to the Great Western Hospital where he was given two X-rays.

He was not admitted for further treatment and was discharged during the late evening.

Once home, he was put into bed, but later died in his daughter's arms.

According to Mrs Mills, who accompanied her father to the hospital, he was complaining of chest pains, but on arrival doctors believed these may have been the result of a heart problem or an injury to the shoulder.

A post-mortem later revealed, however, that he had suffered four broken ribs and severe bruising around his head.

Mrs Mills also asked why staff did not investigate the chest pains.

Dr Ben Aslam, a consultant in the accident and emergency department at the hospital, said that there had been a misdiagnosis of the chest pains but added that it was unlikely to have a made a difference whether he was admitted for further treatment or not.

Dr Aslam also said that the decision to discharge was clinical and not a result of hospital policy. Wiltshire coroner Nigel Brooks then heard evidence from pathologist Dr Darko Lazic, who said that Mr Green died as a result of traumatic shock through multiple injuries caused by his fall down the stairs.

Hearing the evidence, Mr Brooks delivered a verdict of accidental death.

He said that in spite of the misdiagnosis there had been no form of neglect from hospital staff.

He added: "At the end of the day we are all human. The doctor made his diagnosis with the information he had.

"Diagnosis is still an art rather than a science and you have to make a decision without hindsight.

"It was a great loss and he cannot be brought back, but it was the fall that triggered this event."

Mrs Mills said Mr Green was a wonderful father who enjoyed good health and continued to drive right up until he was 78, despite a heart attack.

She added: "He was the figurehead of the family."

I live a few hundred yards down the road, and he would regularly walk down to my house to see us.

"Even the doctor, who would come around to see him, would say, 'see you in six months time'."

anthony Osborne