THE family of a former Polish freedom fighter is considering legal action after a coroner expressed"extreme concern" about the treatment he received at a Blackburn hospital.

Jan Wachala, died aged 80 after undergoing a procedure at Blackburn Royal Infirmary.

Deputy coroner Carolyn Singleton said she was astonished to hear during the inquest that a senior house officer had needed help to stitch a cut, and was concerned doctors had failed to use equipment properly.

Mr Wachala's widow Jean said: "We will be talking with our solicitor to decide what to do next."

War hero Mr Wachala was taken to hospital after he fell at his home in Beech Close, Clayton-le-Dale, and suffered a gashed head and broken ribs.

At the inquest, Mrs Wachala said they waited more than two hours before they were seen although her husband was complaining about the pain.

An inquest heard the first doctor to see him, a senior house officer, asked another doctor to come and stitch the head wound because he did not know how.

Later that morning, he was seen by Dr Chatoor, a locum senior house officer, and consultant Mr Dadouri who decided to insert a chest drain to remove air from his partly-collapsed lung.

Mr Dadouri told the inquest he agreed to supervise but took over from Dr Chatoor because he thought the procedure was taking too long.

He said the water levels in the chest drain's seal started 'swinging' which indicated they were in the right spot. X-rays were taken afterwards but Mr Dadouri admitted they did not show much improvement, if any. Dr Gillian Hutchison, senior house officer in the surgical team, told the inquest that she saw Mr Wachala at about 12.15pm. The chest drain was in position but was not swinging and she told nurses and doctors it should be repositioned.

She next saw him at 3.30pm and he was straining to breathe. The chest drain had not been repositioned and was not working. She said Mr Wachala was becoming more unwell and she inserted a second chest drain.

Shortly after Mr Wachala suffered a cardiac arrest. He was resuscitated and transferred to the intensive care unit where he died the next day.

A post-mortem examination by Home Office pathologist Dr William Lawler found about two litres of air, blood and blood clots in Mr Wachala's chest cavity.

He also found a hole in his diaphragm which had been made by one of the chest drains.

Home office pathologist, Dr William Lawler, said the cause of death was blood and air in the chest cavity, resulting from rib fractures and insertion of chest drains. Contributing factors were heart disease, chronic bronchitis and emphysema.

Deputy coroner Carolyn Singleton said the case caused her considerable concern.

She said: "I have heard evidence of a catalogue of events which ultimately led to Mr Wachala's death.

"I accept that the laceration to his scalp is no way contributed to his death but I am astonished to hear that a senior house officer in accident and emergency requires assistance because he does not know how to stitch.

"It seems the ability to stitch wounds is fairly essential for any doctor, particularly one employed in accident and emergency."

Mrs Singleton said she was also concerned that the chest drain had penetrated Mr Wachala's diaphragm and that it did not do its job.

She added: "I have heard evidence from Dr Hutchison that she arrived at 12.30pm and noticed the drain was not working. She asked for it to be repositioned yet some three hours later it had not been done."

She recorded a verdict of accidental death.

Speaking on behalf of the Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley NHS Trust, director of nursing Richard Gildert said: "The Trust wishes to express its sympathy and condolences to the family of Mr Wachala following his sad death.

"In view of the Coroner's comments we will be reviewing the circumstances of this case so that, where appropriate, lessons can be learnt."