Adrian Poulton was 56, had Down syndrome, and had a broken hip that was already healing.
He was admitted to Poole Hospital in Dorset, England, in September 2021 after a fall at his care home. Doctors mistakenly marked him as “nil by mouth”, an order prohibiting a patient from being given food by mouth. No one corrected the notation. He received no food for nine days.
His family had no idea. His father, Derek, thought he was being fed through a drip. By the time they understood what was happening, Adrian was already too weak to recover. He died on September 28, 2021, two weeks after being admitted.
The hospital’s internal investigation concluded that the lack of nutrition contributed to his death. University Hospitals Dorset apologized and acknowledged the failures. His sister, Lesley Bungay, said that Adrian told her: “Lesley, I don’t want to die”.