AN internal review panel has been appointed to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of 79-year-old Frederick Sagar who was discharged from hospital with a broken neck.

The panel has been set up on the instructions of the chairman of the CommuniCare NHS Trust, which runs Accrington Victoria Community Hospital.

Mr Sagar, who fell down the stairs of a bus, was released after treatment at the hospital's minor injuries unit on Friday August 29.

He collapsed at his home in Fairfield Street, Accrington, and was taken by ambulance to Blackburn Royal Infirmary where he died. The trust said the panel's main task will be to examine the circumstances surrounding the treatment and discharge of Mr Sagar.

It will also review the policies and procedures of the minor injuries unit and will advise on any relevant changes to them, with a report prepared for presentation to the trust board.

The trust said its nurse director had visited Mr Sagar's son, Mr Colin Sagar, to offer their condolences to him and his family and to inform him of the action in setting up the panel.

The review panel will be chaired by Mrs Sonia Bramley-Haworth, a non-executive member of the Trust. Other panel members will be a representative of the Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Community Health Council, and the chief executive of CommuniCare, Ken Johnson.

The panel will receive professional advice from a consultant in accident and emergency medicine from another trust in Lancashire.

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