Hospital inquest hears of communication failure before man's death

Summarised from 3 outlets · Updated 7 Oct, 06:15 · Archive

David Moore, 73, died at Great Western Hospital in Swindon after too much fluid was drained from his lungs too quickly.

David Moore, aged 73 and a retired service engineer from Swindon, died in the early hours of August 23, 2025, at Great Western Hospital in Swindon. He had been admitted the previous day for worsening breathlessness. Mr Moore had stage four lung cancer and had been sent to the emergency department by his GP for an x-ray and to have fluid drained from his lungs.

His wife, Jillian Moore, attended the hospital with him on August 22. She said: 'We were advised to go to the urgent treatment centre and I was told he would need to stay in so I went home and got a bag for his clothes.' She said she was given no indication at any point that her husband was in a critical condition or might not survive the night. 'If I had been told that I would have stayed in the hospital,' she said.

Mrs Moore told the inquest at HM Coroner's Court in Salisbury that she felt 'let down' by the hospital. She said: 'I could have been with him when he died.' She also said she believed her husband might have lived longer if not for the way the procedure was carried out.

The inquest heard that a Patient Safety Incident Investigation had found that too much fluid was drained too quickly from his lungs. The investigation attributed this to a lack of communication between departments at handover. Mrs Moore said the death meant her husband was robbed of the chance to see his grandchildren, a visit that had been due to take place two days after his death.

How it is being reported

• Wife left husband in hospital to fetch clothes, but he died before she could returnA Swindon widow says she never got the chance to say goodbye to her beloved husband who died in hospital while she was fetching him a bag of clothes, an inquest has heard.Gazette & Herald · 7 Oct, 05:00
• Wife left husband in hospital to fetch clothes, but he died before she could returnA Swindon widow says she never got the chance to say goodbye to her beloved husband who died in hospital while she was fetching him a bag of clothes, an inquest has heard.Swindon Advertiser · 7 Oct, 05:00
• Wife left husband in hospital to fetch clothes, but he died before she could returnA Swindon widow says she never got the chance to say goodbye to her beloved husband who died in hospital while she was fetching him a bag of clothes, an inquest has heard.Wiltshire Times · 7 Oct, 05:00

In this story: David Moore · Jillian Moore · Great Western Hospital · Swindon · HM Coroner's Court in Salisbury

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