Barry Hills died while on the organ transplant waiting list

Barry Hills, of Park Road in Wells, north Norfolk, had been on the waiting list for about a year when he was admitted to hospital. 

On December 12, Mr Hill had been at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital (N&N) for an appointment when he fell over while walking back to his car.

He was taken to the hospital’s emergency department where a scan revealed that he had suffered a bleed to the abdomen. 

In a statement read out at Norfolk Coroner’s Court this week, his wife, Lynette Hills, said he remained “his usual chirpy self” but became more unwell as time went on.

She spent several hours a day with her husband and was eventually given a camp bed by hospital staff. 

She was with Mr Hills when he died on the evening of December 25 at the N&N. 

Norfolk Coroner's Court at County Hall, Norwich (Image: Newsquest)

She added that she had “nothing but praise” for the treatment her husband received. 

The court, based at County Hall in Norwich, heard that Mr Hills had been diagnosed with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease around a year ago and had “gone downhill very quickly”.

He was told by his GP at Wells Health Centre that any future treatment would be palliative unless he received a liver transplant.

Area coroner Yvonne Blake concluded that Mr Hills died of natural causes. The primary medical cause of death was given as multiple organ failure. 

She said: “He did have a fall but it did not cause any major injury.”

Mr Hills was born on October 1, 1952, in Cambridgeshire. He worked as a purchasing officer before his retirement. 

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