Lister Hospital failures contributed to death of Lady Joan Branson

An inquest has concluded that failures at a private hospital contributed to the death of Lady Joan Branson, wife of Sir Richard Branson. Lady Joan, 80, died on November 24 following a cardiac arrest at the Lister Hospital in Chelsea, London, which is operated by HCA Healthcare.

The Westminster Coroner’s Court heard that her death was caused by a pulmonary embolism resulting from deep vein thrombosis. Lady Joan had been admitted to the hospital on November 17 after suffering pelvic and hip fractures from a fall on Necker Island.

Medical experts testified that Lady Joan was at extremely high risk for blood clots due to her immobility and fractures. However, she did not receive prophylactic anticoagulation—preventative medication used to stop blood clots—between her admission and her death. Dr. George Adams, a haematologist, stated that appropriate anticoagulation “more likely than not” would have reduced the chances of a fatal embolism and “probably prevented her from dying.”