An elderly man with cancer suffered a fall that would later kill him less than an hour after being allowed to leave hospital in the middle of the night, an inquest has heard.

Retired lorry driver Derek Thornhill died from a brain haemorrhage caused by a fall after he had discharged himself from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, in King's Lynn, where he was waiting for an endoscopy. 

Mr Thornhill, 88, had been admitted to the hospital on July 9, having spent the previous two days vomiting.

It had been suspected that Mr Thornhill, who lived in Wisbech and had oesophageal cancer, may have had a gastrointestinal bleed and doctors had ordered the examination to find out - which required him not to eat any food in the run-up.

But Norfolk Coroner's Court heard Mr Thornhill grew frustrated with not being allowed to eat and insisted he wanted to go home - discharging himself shortly after 11.30pm.

However, within an hour of leaving the site alone, he was returned to A&E by police who had found him on the pavement with heavy bleeding having suffered a fall.

During the inquest, his son, Andrew Thornhill, questioned why the hospital had agreed to allow him to leave.

He said: "Before he came to the QEH in July and was allowed to discharge himself, he was a completely different person.

"He could wash and dress himself and make himself a cup of tea.

"This is how my dad's life changed due to staff not using a bit of common sense and getting in touch with the family of an 88-year-old man wanting to discharge himself - this lack of action shortened my dad's life."

However, hospital staff giving evidence during the hearing insisted they had offered to phone Mr Thornhill's son before he left - but that he insisted he could do that himself.

Brittany Holland, a nurse who was caring for Mr Thornhill that evening, told the court: "He did not understand why he could not eat but calmed down when we explained the reasoning."

Yvonne Blake, area coroner for Norfolk, questioned why Mr Thornhill was not at least given clear, liquid food during the evening, given by that point the examination would not be carried out until the following day.

She said Mr Thornhill had been left without food for "an extraordinary length of time" and that "common sense" could have seen him fed.

Meanwhile, the court heard Mr Thornhill was judged as having the mental capacity to make his own decision about leaving - meaning he could not be stopped from leaving against medical advice.

Jenny Blades, a night nurse practitioner at the hospital, was asked by the coroner whether she believed he understood the risks of self-discharge.

She said: "Yes, absolutely. If I had any doubts at all I would not have allowed him to leave."

Following his fall, Mr Thornhill remained in hospital until September 18, when he was discharged to Glennfield Care Home in Wisbech for palliative care.

He died on October 10 from the brain haemorrhage suffered in his fall, with Mrs Blake concluding his death had been accidental.

In a statement issued after the hearing, QEH chief nurse Pippa Street said: "On behalf of the trust, I offer our sincere condolences to Mr Thornhill’s family.

“We have reviewed the circumstances surrounding Mr Thornhill’s self-discharge, and the care he received during his admission to QEH.

"Although the discharge procedure was followed correctly we note the family’s concerns. We are always keen to review and learn wherever possible to enable us to take forward any appropriate changes we need to make regarding patient care and safety.”