A RETIRED lorry driver bled to death at the Royal Bolton Hospital following a liver biopsy after doctors failed to warn him to stop taking medication which made the bleed worse.

The hospital has apologised for "inadequacies" in the care they gave to Gordon McQueeney, but his furious widow Dorothy has described their £14,000 compensation offer as "outrageous and disgusting".

Gordon McQueeney, from Farnworth, died aged 77 on March 21 after he haemorrhaged following a biopsy procedure.

Doctors were unable to stop the bleeding and Mr McQueeney, who had walked in to hospital that morning with his wife, died later that day.

He was taking anti-platelet medication to thin his blood, and this exacerbated the bleed.

Mrs McQueeney said she asked nurses whether he should take his tablets as normal on the morning of the procedure, and was told he could.

She adds that doctors summoned her back to the hospital at about 11am, three hours after he was admitted, and was told that Mr McQueeney was dying.

Mrs McQueeney said 12 members of his family watched him "slip away" at his bedside at 5.50pm.

The hospital wrote to Mrs McQueeney last week to apologise and make a compensation offer, and stated: "The Trust is confident that this will address the shortcomings identified and prevent similar occurrences in the future."

Mrs McQueeney, aged 76, said: "I think their offer is outrageous and disgusting and an insult to my family.

"His life is priceless to us. This is supposed to be a routine, every-day thing. His health was not the best but he was nowhere near dying.

"He walked in that morning and we left him with a cup of tea and newspaper, chatting to the nurses.

"We didn't think we would never speak to him again."

Mrs McQueeney had called ahead before taking her husband to the biopsy.

She said: "I rang up the hospital and I said is there a bed for my husband? She said yes. Should I give him his medication? She said yes again."

Lesions had been found in Mr McQueeney's liver and lung which were thought to be cancerous and he was referred to the hospital for a biopsy.

All biopsies carry a risk of bleeding but the anti-platelet medication exacerbated the bleed in Mr McQueeney's case.

Coroner Alan Walsh ruled at Mr McQueeney's inquest on September 25: "Gordon McQueeney died as a consequence of intra-abdominal haemorrhage as a recognised complication of a liver biopsy exacerbated by a complication of anti-platelet medication on a background of naturally occurring disease."

Mr McQueeney was father to Wendy, Belinda, Tracey, Jeanette, Paul, Geoffrey and Diane, and had 26 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild.

A spokesman for the hospital said: "The circumstances surrounding Mr McQueeney’s death were tragic and it is understandable that his family are very upset. They have our deep sympathy and apologies for their loss.

"We held a detailed investigation to examine the root causes and what lessons there were to be learned. The report was shared with Mrs McQueeney and HM Area Coroner. At the inquest into Mr McQueeney’s death which was held on September 25th we shared with the coroner the actions we were taking in order to minimise the possibility of such an occurrence happening in future. We also apologised in court to the family.

"With regards to any financial compensation, claims are not dealt with by this trust but by the NHS Litigation Authority which negotiates the amount to be offered."