ian robinson yorkshire air museum INQUEST

in today’s YORK PRESS

Dislodged tube led to death of historian Ian Robinson

A FORMER York airman and wartime historian died after the tube used to feed him following a stroke became dislodged and ended up in his lung.
An inquest into the death of Ian Robinson, 85, of Skelton, heard how a severe stroke had left him unable to eat solid food and he required feeding via a tube at York Hospital.
It is believed the tube may have become dislodged and worked its way out of his stomach to his right lung. However, after listening to evidence, York coroner Donald Coverdale said the “moment of dislodgement remains something of a mystery”.
The inquest heard Mr Robinson was admitted to York Hospital in September last year, after a severe stroke, affecting his ability to talk and eat. It was decided he should be fed directly to his stomach through a tube, although this was known to cause him distress and he had previously pulled the tube out in the days before his death.
Care worker Lucy Bridge told how she and a colleague had carried out a bed bath on the morning of Mr Robinson’s death on October 12, and found the tube to be securely taped at his nose as it should have been.
She said: “We washed him and changed the sheets on his bed, which involves rolling over on to both sides.”
When asked by Mr Coverdale how long after the bed bath Mr Robinson had shown signs of distress, Miss Bridge said: “Not long after that I was asked to accompany him downstairs for a CT scan because he had become unwell. He was very agitated at that stage.”
She said the tube remained secure throughout.
The scan revealed the tube was in the wrong place internally however and had leaked feeding fluid into his lung, resulting later that day in his death, the inquest heard.
Mr Robinson also suffered from a number of medical complaints before the stroke, and was observed to have a cough when admitted to the hospital, where he was also treated for pneumonia.
Mr Coverdale recorded a verdict of accidental death, but said hospital staff had acted properly. He said: “An accident has occurred, even though I can’t point when it happened – it was an accident.”
Mr Robinson’s widow, Mary, said any changes resulting from her husband’s death would be a “good, good thing.”
Mr Robinson was passionate about the Halifax bomber and led the restoration of one for the Yorkshire Air Museum, which he joined in the 1980s .