61-Year-Old With Down Syndrome Dies After Hospital Leaves Him Without Food For 20 Days

When a man who had Down syndrome went to a hospital, he likely expected to leave after a few days to go back home.

He was in the hospital for 20 days, and he wasn’t given food while he was there. Unfortunately, he died in the same hospital bed.

Giuseppe “Joe” Ulleri was only 61 years old when he fell at an assisted living facility and was taken to a local hospital in Machester, England.

His family is now blaming the hospital for their actions that resulted in his death. Joe was discharged and told that he could go back to the assisted living center.

However, further tests determined that he had several broken bones, including fractures to his pelvis and neck.

Joe needed surgery to help correct the fractures. His caregivers knew that Joe had trouble swallowing foods, so they didn’t give him anything by his mouth.

The nurses at the hospital didn’t understand how to feed him and got confused as to the orders that were given, so he wasn’t given any food for almost three weeks.

The hospital was one of the best in the area regarding the technology that it had, but the care provided was concerning.

While Joe was in the hospital, he worked with doctors for his speech and the issues that he had with swallowing.

A gastric tube was inserted through Joe’s nose for about 24 hours, but it wasn’t enough to save his life as he eventually succumbed to not having enough food in his body.