AN inquest has found that neglect at Trafford General Hospital contributed to the death of a 52-year-old Sale man.

Paul Stockton, from Beenham Close, was admitted to Trafford General Hospital on October 15 2013 following a seizure and died three days later.

Today, Tuesday December 1, Coroner for Manchester Fiona Corrill recorded a verdict of accidental death contributed to by neglect.

The inquest saw ‘disturbing’ CCTV footage showing a security guard sitting on Mr Stockton for ten minutes and also grabbing and pinning the father-of-three against a wall.

It was also alleged in evidence that he as slapped by the same security guard whilst in the bathroom.

Daughter Lucy Stockton, who maintains that hospital staff failed to provide proper care for her father as they thought he was as an alcoholic, said: “Watching the CCTV footage was very distressing as we knew this was the last 20 hours of our dad’s life and he just looked helpless, as it he was being treated like a prisoner in a custody cell, not someone who was in actual fact seriously ill.”

The jury concluded that Mr Stockton had not been appropriately managed during his three-day inpatient stay at the hospital.

They also concluded that following a fall, no adequate steps were taken by medical staff to manage Mr Stockton or to diagnose a significant bleed on the brain.

It was found no appropriate measures were put in place to monitor Mr Stockton’s neurological condition and tragically, if these steps had been taken and acute haemorrhage diagnosed earlier, he would have survived.

Following the verdict, Mr Stockton’s daughters, who were represented by Potter Rees Dolan Injuries Solicitors on a clinical negligence claim against the hospital, expressed relief.

Molly Stockton said: “I feel like someone has finally taken notice of what has happened.”

At the time of Mr Stockton’s death, his daughters were informed he had a brain haemorrhage but four months later, the family received a report from the ‘High Level Investigation Team’ at Trafford General.

They were shocked by the contents, much of which they hadn’t known, including the fact that Mr Stockton had fallen over, suffered a head injury which hadn’t been treated and the allegation that he was ‘slapped’ by a security guard.

It was following these revelations that Mr Stockton’s daughter referred the matter back to the coroner.

A spokesperson for Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “We would like to offer our condolences to Mr Stockton’s family for their loss.

“We accept the jury’s findings which reflect those of our internal investigation team that examined the care Mr Stockton received at Trafford General Hospital shortly after his death.

“Valuable lessons have been learned. We continue to work on guidelines, policies and education of our staff to minimise the possibility of a similar incident occurring in the future.”

Hannah Bottomley, clinical negligence solicitor at Potter Rees Dolan, represented the family in their negligence claim.

She said: “A verdict of accidental death contributed to by neglect is a relatively rare conclusion and one which I am sure the coroner and jury did not come to lightly.

“It is, however, a measure of the failings Mr Stockton was subjected to and I hope that lessons can be learned so other families do not find themselves in the same position.”