John Rust

I am Adam Hodson, Area Coroner for Birmingham and Solihull

On 10 April 2025 I commenced an investigation into the death of John Christopher RUST. The investigation concluded at the end of the inquest. The conclusion of the inquest was that John died due to an uncontrolled CSF leak following elective thoracic aortic replacement surgery

On 25/03/25, John was admitted to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital for a elective thoracic aortic replacement, having been diagnosed with a Type B aortic dissection in October 2019.  On 26/03/25 he had a cerebrospinal fluid (‘CSF’) catheter inserted to minimise post-operative risks of paraplegia that is common with the type of surgery. On 27/03/25, the  surgery went ahead without major complications, and he was transferred to ITU to recover.  On 28/03/25, there was over-drainage of the CSF drain, and there were concerns raised  about a possible CSF leak, which were not acted upon. John’s neurological status started to deteriorate which was put down to side effects of medication. At 20.32 hours, Johns’ CSF  drain was noted to have become disconnected which had resulted in him having a period of  unmonitored and uncontrolled CSF loss, and sadly which caused him to suffer a  catastrophic and unsurvivable brain injury. He was kept comfortable, and he passed away at 18:36 on 29/3/25, following which John made the generous gift of organ donation. The  evidence is that that John’s death was avoidable had concerns surrounding the CSF leak  been acted upon sooner. Based on information from the Deceased’s treating clinicians the medical cause of death was  determined to be: 1a Intracerebral haemorrhage 1b   Excess CSF drainage 1c   Lumbar drain, replacement of thoracic-abdominal aortic aneurysm 1d II         Chronic Type B Dissection, Hypertension.

During the course of the inquest the evidence revealed matters giving rise to concern. In my opinion there is a risk that future deaths will occur unless action is taken. In the circumstances it is my statutory duty to report to you. The MATTERS OF CONCERN are as follows.

1. In accordance with the PSII report (#SE-48448 ), a specific recommendation was made that “

All clinical staff (medical and nursing) using automated CSF drainage systems such as Liquoguard must have completed adequate training to ensure that they are familiar with the  functionality of the device prior to use. ..”

1. The evidence at inquest was that this training was not mandatory at present, and that at the time of the inquest, approximately 55% of the relevant staff have received the training. This  has been slowed down somewhat due to a representative of the company being off sick, but further training sessions have been planned.
2. However, the evidence of [REDACTED] (author of the PSII report and consultant neurosurgeon) indicated that it was his view that the training should be mandatory, and that consideration must be given to ensuring this is rolled out in a “sustainable” way to staff –  both current and future – as opposed to a “knee-jerk reaction” where training is only given to a limited number of staff following an incident.
3. There was no evidence before the court that there was any plan to embed this training and ensure that it is carried out in a “sustainable” way, with a particular focus on ensuring that  future staff are adequately and properly trained. This was particularly concerning given the  apparent high rotation and through-put of staff in the ITU department. It became apparent

to me that the training being offered was the type of “knee-jerk reaction” that [REDACTED] was fearful of.

1. There is a risk of future deaths occurring where clinical staff (medical and nursing) do not receive adequate training on equipment.
2. As Coroner, it is not my role to advise what action needs to be taken – that is a matter for your organisation.

In my opinion action should be taken to prevent future deaths and I believe you have the power to take such action.