Tragic Tale of Chris Humphrey's Covid Battle At The Royal Sussex County Hospital

In a devastating account of events, Stephanie reveals her partner Chris Humphrey's battle with Covid-19 and highlights concerns within the NHS that led to his untimely death just weeks after admission.

On June 28th, Chris was admitted to Royal Sussex County Hospital (RSCH) after contracting Covid-19 where he spent the next two months on the Donald Hall Ward. During that time, he battled and recovered from numerous serious chest infections. 

On the 1st of September he was transferred to Princess Royal for rehabilitation. He was scheduled to be transferred on to the Sussex Rehabilitation Centre (Lindfield Ward) but this was delayed setting his scheduled physio session and ultimately any progress back a week.

A discharge date was agreed for October 27th and the equipment needed to aid his recovery, including a bed, were delivered to Chris's home. However, he was not discharged and more worryingly, all visits to his ward were suspended for the next five days. 

On November 1st the hospital informed family that the ward was now placed under a further two weeks quarantine due to a patient testing positive for Covid-19. It also meant Chris couldn't be released. Three days later the hospital claimed he too had tested positive for Covid-19. 

After two further days family were finally allowed to visit. They found Chris "comfortable but wheezing" and said he was wearing an oxygen mask. Over the next two day he showed a slight improvement in his condition, but yet again they stopped all visits.

On November 9th Chris had a Facetime call with a Speech and Language Therapist (SALT) which showed him smiling but congested. We were told antibiotics were being administered to which he appeared to be responding well but by the following day his condition had apparently worsened. We were told he was on "high strength oxygen and very sleepy. 

Note: The British Medical journal website states that "Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO2) treatment involves patients breathing oxygen inside a chamber at a pressure higher than the atmospheric pressure at sea level. This pressure is usually greater than 1.45 atmospheres absolute (ATA). But this level of pressure has the potential to worsen lung inflammation and/or cause potentially dangerous fluid build-up (pulmonary oedema) in the lungs of COVID-19 patients." 

For the next few days there was no improvement in Chris's condition. When we finally got to visit again, we found him tightly gripping the bed rails and sleepy. The doctor "Sebastian", explained that treatment was not effective and that the focus was now on "keeping him comfortable".

A few days later Chris is asked if he wants to go home to which he said yes. Next day we received a distressing call from a member of the palliative care team making out they were surprised given his condition, that he was even still alive! We felt they were just trying justify the decision not to continue treatment!

On November 26th Chris sadly passed away in the presence of his family.

Chris's family is now seeking answers and justice regarding several concerning issues during his hospitalisation. These include the lack of Covid booster and flu vaccination, lax Covid risk management in the hospital, delays in discharge procedures, insufficient attention to communication difficulties, and the decision-making process concerning treatment withdrawal. They emphasise the need for reviews in various hospital protocols to prevent such tragedies in the future.

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