An open verdict was returned by a coroner following the inquest into the death of a patient who collapsed in a psychiatric hospital while waiting for an ambulance to bring him to a general hospital.
Dundalk Coroner's Court heard that Bernard Hoey (43), Cruicetown, Clogherhead, had been discharged from Our Lady of Lourdes hospital in Drogheda on March 16th, 2004, the day before his death.
He had been brought there after collapsing in St Bridget's hospital, Ardee, on March 15th and was seen in A&E by Dr Dermot Long who said he had a history of diarrhoea and was found to be clinically dehydrated. He was admitted for 24 hours and put on a drip.
The inquest heard that by the next morning he had been taking liquids orally and was discharged and brought by ambulance back to St Bridget's hospital.
However, the next day, Dr Deirdre Nevin, the senior psychiatric house officer, was asked to review his condition by staff and decided to re-refer him for assessment back to the Lourdes hospital.
An ambulance was called but a short time later he collapsed. Despite efforts to resuscitate him he was pronounced dead in the Louth county hospital, Dundalk.
The postmortem revealed he had a massive lung clot.