Latest news with #JamesPagetHospital
BBC News
15-07-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Norfolk hospital 'failed to monitor' overdose patient
Hospital staff failed to properly monitor a woman who died from cardiac arrest following an overdose, a coroner has at the James Paget Hospital in Gorleston, Norfolk, also did not realise Susan Young had unused medication in her belongings when she died in August Yvonne Blake said instructions to make sure the 63-year-old was attached to cardiac monitoring were not passed on when she was moved from an emergency to the hospital she said she wanted to know what action it would take to prevent similar deaths in the future. The hospital has been approached for comment. An inquest heard Miss Young had previously suffered various cardiac problems, including a heart took an overdose of prescription medicine for her epilepsy on 22 August, then another the following day – after which she was taken to Ms Blake said while Miss Young's heart was monitored appropriately in the emergency department, nursing staff "did not give any handover and certainly no instructions about cardiac monitoring" when she was transferred to another was later found unresponsive and attempts to resuscitate her coroner said Miss Young had a chance to take another overdose, as staff found more of her medication in her belongings after she it was not known if she had taken more James Paget has until 20 August to tell the coroner what plans of action it has put in place. Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Daily Mail
09-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Masked teenage burglars, 16 and 17, left great-grandmother, 82, lying on the floor of her home crying out for 'mummy' after heartless robbery - before she died two days later
Two masked teenagers, who callously robbed a great-grandmother in her own home before leaving her alone for hours as she lay injured on the floor and crying out for 'mummy', have been locked up for two years in a youth detention centre. Joy Middleditch, 82, died just days after she was discovered seriously injured inside her bungalow in Pakefield, Suffolk, by her family, having been left on the floor for 12 hours after she was burgled and robbed. She was conscious and breathing, but found to have five broken ribs and bruising before dying in James Paget Hospital, Great Yarmouth on March 27, 2023. Following the incident, it was found that her handbag, which contained a purse, had been removed from her bungalow. The boys, now aged 17 and 16, were today sentenced to two years in a youth detention centre by District Judge Kenneth Sheraton. He said: 'I have been sitting in magistrates' courts for many years, and I have no hesitation in saying this is one of the nastiest cases I have seen.' The judge: 'Both boys would have seen the mobility frame by the back door and both boys would have been aware that this was an elderly lady. 'Both boys left the victim on the floor, knowing she had limited mobility, and she had been found some 12 hours later by her son and daughter-in-law after they could not get an answer on the phone.' In addition to the two-year custodial sentence, the pair were ordered to pay a £41 court fee. Each was convicted of burglary offences. A trial held at Great Yarmouth Magistrates' Court last month heard that the 'terrified' Ms Middleditch was 'calling for her mother' on March 25, 2023. She had yelled for the boys to leave her home as they left her on the floor, where she remained until she was discovered by her concerned family. Prosecutor Hanna Llewelyn-Waters said that the pair, who can not be named for legal reasons, were wearing 'intimidating masks' to 'instill fear' into their victim. She argued that both defendants, then 14 and 15, 'acted together' and had 'planned' to commit robbery, calling the elder boy's evidence 'nonsense'. The younger boy refused to give evidence because, Ms Llewelyn-Waters said, 'he has no account to give that will stand up to scrutiny'. Ms Llewelyn-Waters referenced text messages after the robbery, where the younger defendant had texted his girlfriend saying he needed to 'get rid of his clothes'. The court was told he also texted his girlfriend, after learning that Ms Middleditch had died, saying that he 'will see her in 20 years' and that he 'would get rid of his phone'. The prosecutor cited how moments before they entered the rear of Ms Middleditch's property, they had likely set a car alarm off on Foxglove Close, because CCTV captured them running at the moment it sounded. Shortly after, Ms Llewelyn-Waters said the boys then made a 'beeline' to Grayson Avenue, where Mrs Middleditch lived. The court heard how the pair had missed many homes there before stopping at 10 Grayson Avenue. She said, considering the houses they walked past and where they stopped, it was 'inconceivable that they did not know the house was lived in by an elderly person'. When they arrived at the home, they stopped for around a minute and then tried the gate to the rear of the property before climbing over it. During the trial, District Judge Kenneth Sheraton heard evidence from the older defendant who claimed he was 'just following his friend'. An extract from a police interview at the time of his arrest said: 'I followed to see what he was doing when he went around the back door to open it and went in. 'He opened the door, and there was a dog growling. It was only a little thing, so he just ran in. 'She was inside, and he pushed her into the table. He then grabbed her bag and ran back out. I shut the door and followed him. 'She was screaming, 'Get out of my house' and 'Mummy. ' The 17-year-old defendant added that the victim asked him to shut the door because she didn't want her dog to run away. The older boy had gone to his friend's house in the early hours of that morning in question to 'get stoned,' and the boys shared a spliff before 'going for a walk'. The court heard that the boys, later that morning, had travelled nearly two miles on foot when they arrived at Ms Middleditch's home. When the sentencing was announced, the mothers of both boys burst into tears. The older defendant asked if he could say goodbye to his mother, but his request was denied. Following the hearing in April which saw the boys found guilty of robbery, the family of Ms Middleditch issued a statement which said: 'The network of persons affected by this does not just end with us. 'Joy was a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister to several siblings, an aunt and a close friend to many. 'She was worth more than to be a victim of cruel, thoughtless criminals.'
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
How a hospital is coping with crumbling concrete
At the James Paget hospital on the Norfolk coast, supports are stopping 8,300 panels of concrete in its ceilings and walls from collapsing. Staff will eventually work in a brand new building, but how are they coping as repairs to make the current site safe continue around them? The challenges facing the estates team at James Paget hospital are not unique. It is one of a number of English hospitals built using a cheaper type of concrete that is now at the end of its lifespan. Disintegrating Raac, or Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (Raac), is affecting several areas of the hospital including its maternity ward, which has had to close for about six months while the panels are reinforced. The unit will not reopen before the end of August, but in the meantime maternity services have been relocated to the first floor close to theatres and the neonatal unit. Elsewhere, ceilings in 11 out of 14 operating theatres are also being strengthened, with the work being carried out on two theatres at a time. Engineers were so concerned about Raac panels in the hospital kitchen it was made to shut for more than a year, with meals brought in. Work to reinforce 8,300 ceiling panels made from Raac is being undertaken at the James Paget hospital in Norfolk [Qays Najm/BBC] Raac panel ceilings at the Gorleston hospital have been disintegrating for several years [Qays Najm/BBC] Stephen Balls, deputy director of estates and facilities, says without the beam supports there is "a real danger" of ceilings falling in. "It's a mammoth task," he says. He speaks from maternity ward 11, where his team has been working for the past few months. "We usually take an 18-week period for our Raac panel mitigation work," he says. "However, we have also taken the opportunity to upgrade our triage area at the same time." Stephen Balls, who has been in charge of the remedial work, described the work as "a mammoth task" [Qays Najm/BBC] Raac was developed in the 1960s and used in many public buildings, including hospitals, schools and leisure centres, until the 1990s. It is much cheaper and lighter but weaker than reinforced concrete, and over time it deteriorates. Lengthy exposure to water can also make it crumble. The material was only designed to last about 30 years. The James Paget in Gorleston-on-Sea, which serves patients in east Norfolk and north-east Suffolk, is now 43 years old. The majority of the Raac panels at the Paget, some 75% to 80%, are in the ceiling, with the rest in walls. Problems with Raac do not make themselves apparent until the material breaks, say experts [Matt Knight/BBC] So far, 60% of the work on Raac affected areas has been completed and the total cost of this remedial effort will be about £34m. Mark Flynn, director of strategic projects at the hospital, says the work so far is "going really well", with most of the reinforcement work in non-clinical areas having been done. He says staff and NHS England have provided great support to ensure the hospital remains open and the impact on patient services stays minimal. "I am pleased to say that we are in a position to maintain patient services, for patients and staff," says Mr Flynn. "About 86% of our site is constructed with Raac, and obviously we are continuing to work to maintain safety, and we make sure all of the works are done to a really high standard." A new kitchen was built after suspect concrete in the ceiling was made safe [Qays Najm/BBC] Ali Guenaoui, catering operations manager, says the whole kitchen ceiling has been made of Raac, causing "a huge, huge, problem". The area has been reopened after the panels' lifespan was extended. Mr Guenaoui says: "It's been challenging, very, because with a big project like that it wasn't going to just be overnight, but I think the team have done a fantastic job. "We had to find a different way of providing food - food coming in and heating it up, which is not our normal style. "We've waited a long time but now we have so many benefits. It was a custom designed kitchen - we told them how we wanted it and they came and did it." Catering manager, Ali Guenaoui, is delighted with the "beautiful" kitchen that has been built [Qays Najm/BBC] The repairs to the hospital should be done by 2028, according to Mark Flynn, director of strategic projects. By then, work on a new hospital will be under way on a site to the west of the current hospital complex. Wards and corridors have been stripped out ready for repairs [Qays Najm/BBC] The new hospital, which has a budget of £1.5bn, will also have room to expand as it will be double the footprint of the existing site and have about 600 beds for patients. Funding for the new site has come from the government's New Hospital Programme, while the Raac repairs have been met through separate funding from NHS England. "We're really pleased to have now secured the land for this new hospital," Mr Flynn says. Mark Flynn says reinforcements to the hospital's ceilings and walls is progressing well [Qays Najm/BBC] "We will have a completely separate construction site for the new hospital, so we hope to minimise the impact as much as possible... during what's going to be a long build period." Once the new site is built, in about a decade's time, the existing hospital site will be demolished. Mr Flynn says: "It's great that we are part of the National Hospital Programme and really fantastic that we've secured the land. "I feel ecstatic, it's brilliant." An artist's impression of what the new hospital could look like [Perkins & Will/James Paget] Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. Related stories Related internet links
BBC News
08-04-2025
- Health
- BBC News
James Paget Hospital purchases land ready for new site
A hospital which has reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) has purchased land next to the current site for a new hospital to be built. The James Paget Hospital in Gorleston, Norfolk, purchased the land with £9.8m of funding from the Department of Health and Social Care. The new hospital, which will be located to the west of the current site, will be 114,469 square metres and have about 600 beds for patients. Jo Segasby, chief executive, said: "We are delighted to share our vision for our new hospital, which gives our patients and communities a feel for what 'Future Paget' could look like." A new multi-storey car park is also part of the plans, with work due to start in 2027/28. The current hospital serves up to 250,000 people in east Norfolk and Waveney, including Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft in Suffolk. It is one of seven hospitals in England affected by Raac, alongside the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn, with fears the material could be an initial report submitted to the authority, the trust said the new building would be up to 50m (165ft) tall, if it included a helipad. Karin Smyth, Minister of State for Health, said: "I am truly delighted to confirm we have issued £9.8m of funding to James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to purchase land from Great Yarmouth Borough Council."It's for communities like Great Yarmouth that we were determined to put the New Hospital Programme on a realistic and affordable timetable for delivery."Today's land purchase is a vital first step to deliver this much needed new hospital." Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
