The family of a "big-hearted" man have paid tribute to him at an inquest into his death.

Peter Bernard Harris, of Peel Street, Westhoughton, died at the Royal Bolton Hospital on November 4, 2019, aged 72.

Mr Harris, who had most recently been a property developer, had been diagnosed with cancer type lymphoma earlier in the year, which, along with strong chemotherapy, led to a deterioration in his health.

Bolton Coroner's Court was told this was further complicated by spinal issues, which caused him severe back pain, meaning he was suffering with pain from both his back and the cancer.

As well as appointments at the Royal Bolton and Salford Royal Hospital for the lymphoma and his spinal issues, Mr Harris also had appointments and chemotherapy at The Christie cancer centre.

Area coroner Peter Sigee summarised a statement by Peter’s daughter, Emmaline Harris.

She gave tribute to her late father in the statement, saying that he was a “talkative, big-hearted, kind and generous man” and that he was “very intelligent and had a positive outlook on everything".

Emmaline went on to say how he enjoyed fly fishing, clay pigeon shooting and playing guitar, and how he had potential plans to move to Spain, as he enjoyed the warmer climate there.

She described how his cancer worsened, with more appointments and then chemotherapy taking place at The Christie in late September and early October.

It came to a head when, on October 22, 2019, as Emmaline was visiting her father at his home, she found him collapsed on the floor, having tried to get himself to his bathroom.

An ambulance was called and he was taken to Royal Bolton Hospital, where he was scanned and found to be suffering from pneumonia in his right lung, but it was not thought to be life threatening.

Mr Harris was put on a ward and was treated for pneumonia with intravenous antibiotics and oxygen, the latter of which was used intermittently.

Besides a visit to Salford Royal for an appointment to program his spinal cord stimulator, Peter remained at the Royal Bolton, with his condition worsening until his death on November 4.

However, Emmaline has raised some questions about the standard of care her father received at the Royal Bolton following his admission on October 22.

She said how on October 24, her father had not been given the medication for his back pain which he had taken on a regular basis for the previous 20 years.

She said questioned staff about it, but reported they said it was not on the medication list, despite Emmaline providing documentation stating his need for it.

As a result, he missed two of his usual doses, which caused him to suffer unavoidable withdrawal symptoms.

She then gave details about her visit to him on October 29, 2019, having moved to a different ward two days before.

After speaking to staff on the ward on October 29, Emmaline found the remote control for her father’s spinal cord stimulator at the bottom of his washing bag.

She found out that when he had been transferred, the handover did not explain about the stimulator.

He said: "Practice will vary, ideally medications will be assessed by the pharmacy team, who will make sure it's correct and reconcile."

He also highlighted how the combined medication that Mr Harris took for his back isn't available for inpatients at Royal Bolton Hospital.

Dr Ravindra Sawant, a pathologist at the Royal Bolton, found the medical cause of death to be bronchopneumonia caused by ischaemic heart disease, citing central nervous system lymphoma and the chemotherapy administered to treat it as contributing factors.

Other doctors who gave evidence at the inquest include Dr Kim Linton of The Christie and Drs Hugo Chamon, Emily Bartlett, Andrew Fagan and L. Zachariades, all of the Royal Bolton at the time of Mr Harris's treatment, agreed with Dr Sawant’s diagnosis.

The inquest continues today, Wednesday.