'ABANDONED': Siddall died after a series of hospital blunders

Paul Parry, 25, walked free after a jury heard how it was “likely” Arnold Siddall would have survived his injuries had he not been “abandoned” by medical staff. Mr Siddall, 47, suffered a fractured skull when he was pushed over and knocked unconscious during a row with Mr Parry outside a wine bar. He was taken to hospital but was allowed to leave twice within a 12-hour period because they thought he was drunk. On the second occasion, he was placed in a wheelchair and left on a grassed area by security staff because he was being “disruptive”. CCTV footage showed Mr Siddall kneeling on the floor with his head in his hands. On another occasion he was seen sitting on a wall in the grounds before rolling to the floor.

It was only when police arrived at the hospital and Mr Siddall collapsed in the back of a police van that he was taken back and treated. He died two days later after suffering brain damage. Consultant neurologist Professor John Pickard said it was “likely” Mr Siddall would have lived if he had been treated during either of his two admissions to the Royal Oldham Hospital last September. Mr Parry, of Manchester, who works for an engineering company, was later arrested and charged with manslaughter but cleared at Manchester Crown Court.

In a statement last night, he said: “This has been a terrible ordeal for myself and my family as well as the family of the Mr Siddall. The last 14 months have been a nightmare for me and I am just glad it is over.” He claimed Mr Siddall was “aggressive, swearing and very angry” when he pushed him but insisted he did not mean to cause any injury. Mr Justice Openshaw called for an urgent investigation into the hospital’s failure to treat Mr Siddall. He said: “The circumstances in which he was left, one might say abandoned, in the hospital grounds by the security staff strongly suggest to me that he did not receive the care to which he was entitled.”