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Artist News
Care received by MF Doom prior to his death was “not to the standard we would expect”, NHS trust admits
By Andy Malt | Published on Monday 10 July 2023
An NHS trust has apologised for the level of medical care received by MF Doom, saying that it “was not to the standard we would expect”. This follows an inquest into the rapper’s death in 2020.
Real name Dumile Daniel Thompson – known as Daniel – the rapper died as a result of a “rare” allergic reaction to a drug prescribed to control blood pressure, reports Leeds Live. However, the inquest heard, opportunities to diagnose and treat this reaction were missed by doctors at St James’s Hospital in Leeds.
Thompson was admitted to the hospital on 23 Oct 2020 having developed breathing problems after taking new medication to control his blood pressure. There he was given adrenaline, steroids and oxygen, which initially seemed to improve his condition. However, he suddenly deteriorated and collapsed. He was placed on a ventilator but died on 31 Oct.
Assistant coroner Janine Wolstenholme, overseeing the inquest, concluded that while a care plan had been drawn up by the hospital, it was not sufficiently detailed – in part because doctors were given “false reassurance” that things were moving in the right direction when Thompson’s condition had initially appeared to improve.
Wolstenholme added that a review should have been triggered when Thompson indicated that his swelling was worsening and that doctors had failed to seek “specialist input” from an immunology expert. However, she added, Thompson’s deterioration had been very sudden, and it was impossible to say if any of these actions would have saved him.
Thompson’s reaction to the drug he had been prescribed was “rare”, but more common in smokers and people of African-Caribbean descent, and Thompson was both.
Following the inquest, the Chief Medical Officer at the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Dr Hamish McLure, said: “I would like to offer our sincere condolences to Daniel’s family, friends and fans at this difficult time. I apologise that the care he received was not to the standard we would expect”.
“Following his sad death we undertook a serious incident investigation and the report has been shared with Daniel’s family”, he added. “As a result, we have put in place a number of actions and the wider learning from what happened is to be used as a teaching topic in a number of different clinical specialities. We also support the coroner’s recommendation for clearer national guidance and awareness in this area”.
