A famous musician died due to a lack of oxygen to his brain after a 'rare' reaction to a drug prescribed for blood pressure.
Dumile Daniel Thompson, 49, a father of six and rapper who performed as MF Doom, died on October 31 2020 at St James's Hospital in Leeds, after he suffered respiratory arrest which led to his brain being starved of oxygen.
The NHS Trust has now apologised and said the care given to Daniel was not up to standard.
An inquest into his death heard that the hospital Trust had accepted that there had been 'missed opportunities' during his treatment for a condition called angiodema which had led to his throat, tongue and lips becoming swollen. The angiodema had been triggered by him being prescribed medication to control his blood pressure.
Mr Thompson, who was known to his family as Daniel, had been suffering from several medical conditions, including kidney failure, type 2 diabetes, heart failure and Hepatitis B.
In July 2020 he had been undergoing kidney dialysis in Leeds and had been living in the Roundhay area of the city.
He had registered with a new GP in Leeds but medics had been unable to access his previous medical notes due to concerns about 'data protection', the inquest heard. The inquest heard that this was a national issue.
On October 23, Daniel had developed breathing problems after taking some new medication and went to the A&E department at St James's Hospital where he was given adrenaline, steroids and oxygen. His condition appeared to improve but later Daniel suddenly deteriorated and he collapsed. He was put on a ventilator and died on October 31.
His wife, Jasmin, who followed the inquest via a video link from the United States, raised a number of concerns about how he was being monitored while in hospital.
She paid tribute to her husband in a statement, calling him "a wonderful, talented man taken too soon and missed by everyone."
Mrs Thompson said she couldn't visit her husband in hospital due to the Covid pandemic restrictions.
Assistant coroner Janine Wolstenholme concluded the inquest with a narrative verdict which touched on a number of issues highlighted by Daniel's wife and her legal team.
Ms Wolstenholme said a care plan had been drawn up in hospital which was not sufficiently detailed. She said doctors had been given a 'false reassurance' about Daniel's condition when his health appeared to improve.
The coroner said that when Daniel had indicated his swelling was getting worse, this should have triggered a request for a review, although it was not possible to say what action would have been taken, and it was not possible to say whether Daniel's collapse could have been avoided.
Ms Wolstenholme described Daniel's deterioration as 'rapid' and said it was a 'rare event'.
She said the reaction to the drug was rare but it was more common in smokers and people of African-Caribbean descent. Daniel was described as a moderate smoker.
The coroner said the Trust had accepted that doctors had not sought 'specialist input' about Daniel's condition from an immunology expert.
The coroner apologised to Mrs Thompson for the time it had taken to bring the matter to the court.
Following the inquest conclusion, the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust apologised for the care Daniel received which it said was "not to the standard we would expect".
Dr Hamish McLure, Chief Medical Officer at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "I would like to offer our sincere condolences to Daniel’s family, friends and fans at this difficult time. I apologise that the care he received was not to the standard we would expect.
"Following his sad death we undertook a serious incident investigation, and the report has been shared with Daniel’s family. As a result we have put in place a number of actions and the wider learning from what happened to be used as a teaching topic in a number of different clinical specialties. We also support the coroner’s recommendation for clearer national guidance and awareness in this area."
