Mark died after five-day drinks binge - 28-08-2008

A CORONER warned of the dangers of heavy drinking after a young footballer died as a result of a boozy holiday with team-mates.

Mark Drew, 27, drank 10 pints of lager and seven to eight alcopops a night during his five-day break in Vilamoura, Portugal.

The day after he got home, the factory worker woke up with agonising stomach pains and was driven to hospital where he was diagnosed with acute pancreatitis.

Despite treatment in intensive care at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital and then at a specialist unit in Leicester, Mark, of Stephens Way, Horsley, near Nailsworth, died on June 5, 2007, three weeks after first falling ill. The inquest at Shire Hall, Gloucester yesterday was told the most common cause of pancreatitis is heavy drinking but it can also be caused by gallstones or a viral infection.

Gloucestershire coroner Alan Crickmore said he was satisfied in Mark's case that his excessive alcohol consumption on holiday sparked the illness.

"It is clear to me that his death does show the dangers of alcohol and it is perhaps a warning to all of us as to the possible adverse and unexpected effects of alcohol consumption," he said.

"Mark has gone off and enjoyed a holiday in Portugal, he has consumed a considerable amount of alcohol which precipitated pancreatitis which caused the multi organ failure which led to his death."

Mr Crickmore recorded a verdict of accidental death, saying he was satisfied all had been done by doctors both at Gloucester and at Leicester to save his life.

However, after the inquest, Mark's family said they were unhappy with his treatment and believed he should have been sent to the Leicester hospital unit sooner.

Mark's dad, Trevor, 59, said: "I have vowed never to go there again. If I fell down now with a heart attack I would say 'No, I'm not going to GRH - take me to Cheltenham hospital'. If they said I might not survive the journey to Cheltenham I would rather die than go into the Royal."

Mr Drew said he did not believe his son's drinking was excessive - - and he was definitely not an alcoholic.

"I was drinking as much as him when I was 27, if not more," he said. "He was with nine friends on that holiday and they were all drinking exactly the same as him every night yet they are all fine. I think Mark was just very unlucky."

The inquest heard Mark, who worked at the Schlumberger oil and gas technology factory in Stonehouse and was an assistant steward at the Comrades Club in Nailsworth, played for Horsley United FC.

He and nine clubmates flew to Vilamoura for a break returning on May 15.

Friend Keith Grant told the inquest for the first four nights they all drank about the same between about 4pm and 2am the next morning, with a break for a meal.

On the final night they went to a casino rather than a nightclub and drank less - two-three pints of lager and then another four-five bottles.

He said they got back into Cardiff airport at 3pm on May 15 and Mark was fine.

That night they went out playing skittles and had four-five pints of lager each.

Mr Grant said he dropped Mark off at home at 11pm and he still seemed fine but next morning he rang saying he had stomach pains and wanted to go to Stroud Hospital.

"I arrived five minutes later and saw him doubled up in pain in the street, holding his stomach," he said. "He was obviously in great pain. In the car he put the seat right back. He was twisting and turning and putting his head out of the window to get some air."

Mark was put on oxygen in Stroud hospital, a doctor quickly diagnosed pancreatitis and he was transferred to GRH.

However, he went into acute respiratory distress syndrome and also contracted MRSA. This was treated with antibiotics and did not ultimately play a part in his death.

Because his condition was deteriorating he was transferred on May 25 to the heart and lung department of Glenfield Hospital, Leicester, where doctors are running trials of a treatment called ECMO - Extra Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation.

The treatment improves survival rates from the respiratory distress syndrome by 16%, the inquest heard.

However, it could not save Mark and he died on June 5 as a result of the multi organ failure.

The coroner said "I am satisfied on the evidence of all the medical witnesses that Mark suffered an acute severe pancreatitis due to consumption of alcohol and that this led to the multiple organ failure which represents the final event leading to death.

"There is no evidence of any culpable failure on the part of any person nor of any neglect on the part of any person. I am satisfied that Gloucestershire Royal Hospital had proper systems in place to ensure he was properly treated and cared for."

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