Pathologist, 68, died of overdose after staff at his NHS trust mistakenly gave him wrong medication

A highly-respected pathologist died from an overdose after he was given the wrong drug by staff at the NHS trust where he worked.

Prof Ray McMahon, 68, suffered a cardiac arrest after he was given medication which was three times too strong, his inquest heard.

The father-of-three, who was president of the International Academy of Pathology, died at Wythenshawe Hospital on February 18, four days after he had been admitted with a fever.

He had been poorly for many years with ill-heath and respiratory disease, Manchester Coroner's Court heard.

A trainee pharmacist prescribed the wrong medication after looking in a fridge when in reality the correct medication was stored on a shelf.

The hearing was told that the error was also not spotted by nursing staff at Prof McMahon's bedside.

The family today criticised 'awful failings' by Manchester University NHS Trust, which has admitted to a 'cascade of errors' in his care.

Coroner Zak Golombeck recorded a narrative conclusion and said the professor's death was 'contributed to by neglect'.

Fighting back tears, his daughter Aoife said: 'We would like to express our extreme disappointment, distress and sadness especially at the trust where he worked for so many years.

'We are very shocked that an error of this magnitude was allowed to happen.'

Ms McMahon said he was 'failed' in his treatment by hospital bosses and the family 'were very shocked' by his death.

She added: 'Ray had been sick before many times.

'However he had demonstrated that he was a fighter.

'We will never know what would have happened on this occasion, had he been allowed to live.'

The inquest was told that Prof McMahon, who had five grandchildren, was admitted to hospital with a fever in the early hours of February 14 and treated for a chest infection.

He was then transferred to intensive care and the hospital's infectious diseases consultant recommended starting liposomal amphotericin - a medicine used to treat a potential fungal respiratory infection.

The inquest heard that the pharmacy wrongly looked in the fridge and misidentified non-lipid amphotericin or Fungizone as the correct medicine.

He was given the wrong drugs for an hour, resulting in a significant overdose.

Tragically Prof McMahon suffered a cardiac arrest and died.

Dr Katherine Ajdukiewicz, the trust's director of infectious diseases, admitted that there had been a 'cascade of errors'.

She said 'human error' resulted in the staff 'looking in the fridge' for the medication by mistake.

Prof McMahon was born in Galway, Ireland, and came to Manchester in 1984.

The inquest heard that the Manchester United fan's 'passion' was music and he loved Steely Dan.

Coroner Mr Golombeck told his family that the hospital trust has 'put in place changes that would significantly reduce the chances of this happening again'.

But he said there had been 'gross failures' by hospital staff and recognised the 'deep frustration' and 'anger' of the family.

Afterwards his widow Claire said: 'Ray devoted his whole life to the NHS but as a patient, he was failed by Wythenshawe Hospital. 

'We are grateful for the thorough investigation undertaken by the hospital, but to know that both system and individual failures caused his death is devastating. 

'Our disappointment extends to Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust as an organisation.'

Rachael Heyes, specialist medical negligence solicitor at JMW, who represented the McMahon family, said: 'What happened to Ray was a complete tragedy. 

'There were multiple failings in his care, including the initial prescribing and the dispensing of the anti-fungal medication. 

'I hope that the Trust can learn from what happened and ensure that the processes now in place are effective and no other patients are exposed to potentially serious harm in the future.'

Dr Sohail Munshi, joint chief medical officer at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, said: 'We wish again to extend our deepest condolences to Professor McMahon’s family, friends and colleagues at this incredibly difficult time.

'The trust has undertaken a thorough investigation to examine the circumstances following his very sad death, and we apologise that our care has fallen short of the high standards to which we aspire.

'We are committed to providing the best care possible for our patients and we will be reviewing the coroner’s conclusion carefully, to ensure that any further learning for the trust is addressed and applied to our constant work to improve our patients’ safety, quality of care, and experience.

'We would like to acknowledge that Professor McMahon was a valued member of our staff for many years and also recognise the significant contributions he made to the health service.'