A daughter says she never got to say a proper goodbye to her terminally ill father who died after falling from his hospital bed.

Bosses at Medway Maritime Hospital are investigating the death of Anthony Witherden who passed away shortly after falling on Keats ward.

The 65-year-old suffered a broken nose, a broken arm and a shattered shoulder. He never regained consciousness and died just before 4pm the following day.

His daughter Laura Witherden has put in a formal complaint to the hospital but more than two months later, is still waiting for answers.

She said: “I don’t blame the hospital for my dad’s death but I’ve no doubt that the fall sped it up. I had to watch my dad die in such a horrible way.

“After the fall he never opened his eyes, he didn’t speak, we had nothing from him. I never got the chance to say goodbye properly.”

Mr Witherden, of St Margaret’s Drive, Wigmore, was admitted to hospital on October 6, with cirrhosis of the liver.

His daughter had been to visit him on Thursday, October 18 and then got a call at 4.30am on the Friday morning to say he had fallen and was being treated in resuscitation.

Mrs Witherden, of Fourth Avenue, Gillingham, said: “First of all I wanted to know why he was in resus when he was on a DNR [do not resuscitate] and they told me he’d had a massive fall and I should come in.

“When I got there it was such a shock to see my dad like that. He had been OK when I left him on the Thursday night. He was poorly but he knew my name and was alert.

“They told me it took them at least a couple of hours to get him off the floor. When I asked how it had happened they said they didn’t know.”

Shortly after her father’s death Ms Witherden put in a complaint to Medway NHS Foundation Trust and was told she would receive a response within 28 days. She is still waiting for a formal answer.

A spokesman for Medway NHS Foundation Trust confirmed an investigation is being carried out but said she could not comment any further.

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