YORK Hospital bosses have apologised and paid compensation to the widow of a top York musician for failings in the care he was given during a three month stay at the hospital.

York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has agreed an out-of-court settlement with Lesley Jones, of Copmanthorpe, over her husband Bev’s treatment in early 2013.

A spokeswoman told The Press: “We are sorry Mr Jones did not receive the high quality care that our patients rightly expect and we have ensured that learning has arisen as a result.”

Mr Jones, who was a leading chorister, composer, arranger, teacher and musical director, and sang as a schoolboy at the Queen’s Coronation, went to the hospital in late December 2012 complaining of speech disturbance and right facial weakness, said Mrs Jones’ solicitor Richard Wood.

He was kept in overnight and sent home the next day, only to be re-admitted on January 2, 2013, with difficulty swallowing solid food and increased confusion, and stayed as an inpatient until March 25, 2013, when he went to a specialist nursing home in Harrogate.

Mr Wood, of Harrowells solicitors, said a series of safeguarding meetings attended by Mrs Jones, hospital representatives, the NHS Commissioning Board and City of York Council discussed failings in Mr Jones’ care.

He said a number of findings of neglect were made in relation to the management of his continence, mental health condition, pressure sore and diabetes, and also about his development of hospital acquired pneumonia.

“Mrs Jones brought a claim against York Hospitals NHS Foundation trust, alleging the failings above and a number of others,” he said

“The hospital trust responded by accepting the standard of nursing care delivered to Mr Jones was not high enough, but disputing many of the other allegations made.”

He said she had accepted a settlement offer from the hospital and brought her claim to an end.

He said: “The claim brought by Mrs Jones was principally about achieving justice for her husband, Bev, and a desire to expose and correct poor practice.

“A positive outcome of this case is that York Hospital has now taken action to address the failings identified. I am pleased that Mrs Jones was able to reach an appropriate settlement with the hospital trust in response to her legal action.”

Mrs Jones said the trust’s comment to The Press was a ‘very short, disappointing response,’ especially as it had acknowledged the failings six years ago in the safeguarding investigations, and she questioned why it had contested the action for six years. She added that Bev had lost more than six stone in his three months at the hospital.

* The Press reported last year on an inquest into Mr Jones’ death at Harrogate Hospital in 2016. The hearing was told he was taken there from a Knaresborough care home, where there had been failings in his care. The home’s owners said they were going to carry out ‘huge improvements’ to ensure other diabetic residents did not experience the deficiencies in care which he had suffered.