An inquest jury has returned a verdict of death from misadventure after hearing that a seriously ill man waited for nine hours before he was admitted to a Dublin hospital from nearby Mountjoy Prison, writes Georgina O'Halloran.
Joseph Mangan (35), Gloucester Place, Dublin, was brought from Mountjoy Prison to the Mater Hospital on July 25th, 2007, having been found extremely unwell in his cell earlier that morning. He was suffering from end-stage liver disease and hepatitis C related to drug abuse.
Prison staff had made numerous failed attempts to have Mr Mangan taken to St James’s Hospital from where he had been discharged two days earlier. However, they were told this was not possible because Mountjoy was not within its catchment area.
The jury returned the verdict of death by misadventure under the direction of coroner Dr Brian Farrell. It said all hospital staff should be made aware of the exception to the catchment area rule and that where it was in the patient’s established interest, the patient be accepted.