Two men died after falls at overstretched South London hospital

Two men died a day apart after suffering head injuries in separate unwitnessed falls at an overstretched south London hospital.

David Ward, 76, died at St George’s Hospital in Tooting on 10 February 2024, while Dr Debapriya Ghosh, 83, died the following day.

Fiona Wilcox, Senior Coroner for Inner West London, has written to the health secretary, saying the cases highlighted “impossible situations where demand clearly exceeds available resource”.

A spokesperson for St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has offered their condolences to the families, adding that “immediate changes” were made following their deaths.