The parents of a talented teenage athlete with who had epilepsy, cerebral palsy and autism have blamed their son’s death on “arrogant” doctors who defied their wishes and gave him antipsychotic medication.
Oliver McGowan, 18, was admitted to Southmead hospital in Bristol on 22 October 2016 after having a seizure that did not subside when his normal medicine was administered, an inquest heard.
His father, Tom, mother, Paula, and Oliver himself repeatedly told paramedics and doctors that he should not be given antipsychotic medication because he had reacted badly to it in the past, it is claimed.
Tom McGowan said Oliver also told those treating him: “Please do not give me antipsychotics, I don’t like them, they mess with my brain.”
McGowan told the inquest at Avon coroner’s court on Monday that, despite their warnings, doctors prescribed olanzapine, an antipsychotic medication used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, on 25 October.
He said they watched their “once vibrant and active boy” deteriorate over the next week before being told his prognosis was “appalling” and that if he survived he would never walk again, be blind and have no memories or language.
On 30 October a scan found Oliver had neuroleptic malignant syndrome, a reaction to antipsychotic drugs, and he required life-saving surgery to alleviate swelling in his brain. He continued to deteriorate and the family agreed to life support being withdrawn. He died on 11 November.
McGowan said: “We firmly believe that Oliver would not have died if he had not been administered Olanzapine.
“We are driven to conclude that the doctors were arrogant and felt they knew best and as a result prescribed an antipsychotic, which Oliver and ourselves had expressly forbidden.
“We had sound reasoning for saying no to the administration of olanzapine, Oliver’s previous reaction to the drug, but no matter how forcefully we relayed this to the doctors, we were ignored. If Oliver had not been prescribed olanzapine we believe he would be alive today, enjoying college and having a productive life.”
The family described Oliver’s disabilities as mild and said he had a “steely determination and a can-do attitude”.
Speaking before the inquest, Paula McGowan said: “Oliver brought so much happiness and fun to our lives; he always saw the best in everything and everyone, he taught all of us how to look at things differently. Oliver never failed to light up a room with the sound of his laughter. He wanted to make everybody happy and did his best to achieve that. Oliver’s mild disabilities did not hold him back.”
Oliver played in centre of excellence football squads for young people with cerebral palsy and was training with Team Bath, aiming to compete in the Paralympics on the track.
The family is being backed by the charity Inquest. Its director, Deborah Coles, expressed concern that the family had not received any public funding for the hearing.
She said: “This is in contrast to North Bristol NHS trust, whose lawyers are paid for from the public purse. We hope that there is a thorough inquiry into this death and that it uncovers any systemic lessons in the hope of protecting lives in the future.”
Luke Canham, a specialist registrar in neurology who treated Oliver on the night he was admitted to Southmead hospital, said he recalled speaking to Tom and Paula McGowan, who handed him a folder containing details of their son’s medical history.
He said: “I explained I would not be using antipsychotics. I made it very clear to my colleagues … both verbally and in typed correspondence about the concerns the family had about the use of antipsychotics.”
Anthony Metzer QC, for the McGowans, said the family did not just have “concerns” about the use of such drugs but had “expressly forbidden it”.
Canham said: “Oliver’s parents were clear on the non-use of all antipsychotic medication.”
The inquest continues.