A DISABLED man who went into hospital for a blood transfusion never returned home after contracting sepsis, an inquest heard.

Andrew Meads died at Royal Berkshire Hospital in October 2017, having suffered from a string of ailments.

The 49-year-old developed hospital-acquired pneumonia and this resulted in him having a cardiac arrest.

His family raised concerns about the quality of the care he received, but a coroner ruled that his death was a 'hybrid case of both natural and unnatural causes'.

A statement at Reading Town Hall from the family described Mr Meads as 'good-natured' man, who enjoyed supporting Manchester United.

His mother added: “Losing Andrew has been devastating for me, I can’t get over the fact he went in there for a blood transfusion and never came home, broke his pelvis and his relatives were never told.”

Mr Meads suffered from pre-existing medical conditions, such as acromegaly, hypothyroidism, osteoporosis and anaemia, and was admitted to hospital in September 2017 for a blood transfusion.

He was taken to hospital on September 7 and his mother, who was his carer, said he appeared to be in good health.

Mrs Meads firmly believed that it was hospital failings which led to Andrew's death, due to the fact that he had suffered a fall at the hospital which was not reported to her.

She also believed there were delays to her son receiving an x-ray and being moved to the Intensive Care Unit.

Alison McCormick, assistant coroner for Berkshire, said it was a 'hybrid' case.

She added: “Andrew died of sepsis due to hospital-acquired pneumonia.

“He had an unwitnessed fall and sustained fractures to his right iliacus, which contributed to the development of his pneumonia.”

She concluded that the death was partly caused by this but also because ‘he had an underlying condition due to his many health complaints’ which made him susceptible to hospital-acquired illness, coupled with the fact that his condition deteriorated very suddenly, which staff could not have foreseen.

On September 13, Mr Meads suffered a fall by his bed, fracturing his pelvis. It was not until he underwent a CT scan on September 21 that staff were aware of any fractures.

The family and the hospital failed to agree on the circumstances of his fall.

In the weeks leading to his death, Mr Meads began to suffer difficulty breathing, as well as increasing pain from his fall.

Due to his pre-existing conditions he needed the aid of a stick to be mobile and a mobility scooter when he was 'out and about'.

Doctors at the hospital said his chances of developing hospital-acquired pneumonia were increased due to his  immobility which was worsened by the fall.