Man 'left to die' on Greek hospital trolley

A mother who accuses medical staff of letting her son die in a Greek hospital today spoke of the last "terrifying" moments of his life.

Pam Cummings said 24-year-old Christopher Rochester was left unattended on a trolley in excruciating pain after falling from a hotel balcony.

His body was later flown home to Britain where it was revealed one of his kidneys had been removed. When his mother protested to Greek authorities, they sent a kidney from Rhodes that turned out not to be her son's.

His death at Rhodes Town Hospital three years ago sparked anger and was the subject of a parliamentary debate. Today three doctors and two nurses went on trial in Rhodes charged with manslaughter by neglect. The staff deny the charges.

Ms Cummings told three judges presiding over the case that Christopher, of Chester-le-Street, County Durham, spent his last hours "knowing that no one was helping him in his

distress". She added: "What an horrific situation to happen in a hospital where trained staff should be on hand at all times. Chris must have been terrified.

"Had he been given the emergency care and attention he was entitled to he would still be alive today."

It is claimed it took 40 minutes for an ambulance to arrive and that he was then "bounced about" on a stretcher and left lying on a hospital trolley in severe pain.

Medical experts expressed horror at the level of medical standards at the island's hospitals.

Recording a verdict of accidental death contributed to by neglect, coroner Andrew Tweddle said: "I have grave concerns over standards of medical care on the Greek island. This should never have been allowed to happen."

The case in Rhodes follows a determined campaign for a criminal case to be brought.

Under Greek law, victims' relatives can address judges about their loss. Speaking through a translator, Ms Cummings told the court: "I believe, after Chris's accident, that if he had been given the emergency care and attention he was entitled to he would still be alive today.

"My fight is with those five people charged with the death of my son through negligence.

"I am here today to see justice carried out. It is only right and proper that these people be punished so that this can never be allowed to happen again.

"My son suffered an untimely death, an unnatural death, but most of all he suffered an unnecessary death.

"He should still be with me, my family and his friends, but instead he is buried six feet under the ground. How could these people let this happen, have they no regard for human life?

"Apart from the torment of dealing with Chris's death we have also had to endure the horrendous process of getting this case to court."