'Dangerous overcrowding' was not major factor in death of 85-year-old who died in Northampton's A&E, inquest hears

Severe overcrowding at Northampton's emergency department did not play a major factor in the death of an 85-year-old man who died during a nine-hour stay in A&E, an inquest has heard.

Mohan Acharya died in the early hours of March 8, 2018, nine hours after arriving at the emergency department for treatment for "chest pains and shortness of breath".

The day after his death, a number of national media reported on a leaked, emotional email from a medical director to senior staff at the hospital - where he claimed the man's death was "due entirely to the dangerous overcrowding at the A&E department".

In fact, on the day of the 85-year-old's admission, 450 people attended the emergency department - compared to 300 on the same day the previous year.

But at the first day of Mr Acharya's inquest yesterday (February 26), the coroner heard how the overcrowding was not a major factor in his death.

The court heard how a post-mortem revealed Mr Archarya died of cardiac arrest brought on by pneumonia in his lungs and an "acute kidney injury".

The 85-year-old was seen several times during his nine-hour stay in A&E - but his chest pains were misdiagnosed as a heart condition because he showed "none of the usual signs" of pneumonia.

It meant that while staff worked to treat his "heart condition", Mr Archarya's condition quickly grew worse, and he passed away in the early hours of March 8.

The court did hear how the extreme pressure on the emergency department led to observations of Mr Archaya's condition being missed.

But deputy coroner Hassan Shah, who oversaw the inquest, said: "It seems to me even if he had one-to-one care and observations, it might not have been enough to spot the condition and act quickly enough."

Several hospital doctors, as well as the hospital's CEO Ms Deborah Needham, apologised to Mr Archaya's for "lapses in care" in the hours before his death.

The inquest is set to conclude today (February 27).