A SECOND World War veteran has claimed his elderly wife died of starvation after she went into hospital with a chest infection.
Don Penny, 87, has demanded Croydon University Hospital look into the death of his wife, Molly, who was one of the borough's longest serving teachers.
He believes his wife died after enduring a "fatal endoscopy" which resulted in her not being able to eat or drink. She died on December 2 after weeks in hospital the day before her 87th birthday.
"She only went in with a chest infection," the grieving husband said. "I have done a lot of research into the dangers of endoscopies and I do not believe she should have had one.
"She had a narrow gullet and it clearly damaged it so she couldn't eat or drink.
"The fluids they gave her weren't enough and we sat by her bed watching her waste away until she died.
"It is a huge blow and I want to know who killed my wife."
Mrs Penny had gone into hospital after being referred by her GP on November 7 and stayed overnight until she was allowed back to their home in Woodland Gardens, Selsdon, the day after.
However, Mr Penny believes his wife was then "forced" to go back to hospital the very next day when a district nurse came to their house to administer some antibiotic medicine.
"She wasn't on the hospital care list so I was uneasy about letting her in," Mr Penny said.
"She then called the hospital and they sent an ambulance to take my wife back with them. No one would tell us why this was necessary and a paramedic threatened me with a court summons if I did not allow them to take her away."
"The simple truth is my wife died after an ill-advised endoscopy that left her unable to swallow, eat or drink," he said. "Ward doctors and medical staff confirmed at the time that she was thirsty and slowly starving to death."
The widower was called to a meeting at the hospital last Thursday where Julia Layzell, the associate director of nursing, gave the results of her investigation.
Mr Penny claims to have been told the district nurse had been concerned about the care his wife was receiving at home and that the hospital had done everything it could to treat her chest infection.
Unconvinced by the hospital's explanation, Mr Penny demanded to see a specialist, claiming Ms Layzell had failed to answer his questions.
A spokesman for the hospital said: "The trust take complaints raised by patients and their families very seriously and always investigates them to a high standard, ensuring that our findings are accurate, thorough and in-depth."
