James Poots’ family have paid tribute to him after an inquest admitted failings in his care
16:43, 09 Feb 2026
James Poots(Image: Emma Walsh)
The family of a previously healthy young man who died after waiting months for surgery have spoken of ‘watching his spark go out’ – and say they have been left ‘shocked’ at an inquest conclusion into his death.
Heywood resident James Poots was just 24 when he was diagnosed with pericarditis (swelling of the lining of the heart) in 2023. An active young man who worked as a dryliner, he had begun complaining of chest pains earlier that year.
Despite several stays in hospital, his condition worsened amid several delays in the arrangement of scans and a surgical consultation. After months of waiting, James, 26, eventually had surgery but tragically died a week later, in April 2025.
Rochdale Coroners Court heard last week that James had been recommended for an MRI scan in November 2023 at Royal Oldham Hospital, after a heart scan showed ‘thickening’ fluid around his heart. But this was never carried out until his next hospitalisation the following May.
James pictured shortly before his surgery (Image: Emma Walsh)
“There was an excessive delay in this case,” said Dr Nicholas Palmer, a senior consultant cardiologist giving evidence at the inquest. “There was clear cause for concern but no follow-up arrangements made. It was marked as urgent, but was not performed urgently.”
Following his hospitalisation in May 2024, doctors arranged a multi-disciplinary team meeting (MDT), where James’ cardiologist pushed for a surgical referral but a surgeon declined this. A further meeting was arranged for July 12 but James’ case was ‘not on the list’, the court heard.
“It should have been rolled over to the next meeting, but it was not,” Area Coroner for Manchester North Catherine McKenna said later. “His case was lost in the MDT pathway.”
Dr Palmer said he believed surgery ‘should have taken place’ in summer 2024, but James didn’t receive any further treatment until he was admitted to North Manchester General in the New Year, by which time he was ‘extremely unwell’.
When he was eventually operated on in March 2025, the surgeon ‘had not realised’ how ill James was until he ‘saw the damage to his heart muscle’. He tragically died a week later of multiple organ failure brought on by cardiac failure, brought on by constrictive pericarditis.
“The longer you leave a condition like this, the more the heart is affected,” Dr Palmer explained. “Six or seven months beforehand, it would have been less advanced, and would have given a better chance of survival.”
It was over this six-month period that James’ family had to ‘watch him decline’, they told the Manchester Evening News after James’ inquest concluded on Friday, February 6, where the coroner said the MDT at Royal Oldham ‘had failed’.
‘We were seeing him decline, his spark had gone’
Emma Walsh’s voice cracks with emotion when speaking about her brother. It is strained with anger, with grief, with a strength of feeling that shows just how much he meant to her – and her deep sense of injustice that he did not get the care he deserved.
“James was the most bright, intelligent, bubbly soul,” she told the M.E.N. “He lit the room up.”
(Image: Emma Walsh)
She described the six months between July 2024 and his hospital admission in January 2025 as ‘horrific’.
“We were seeing him decline, his spark had gone,” she said. “He knew something was wrong.
“He tried to contact the hospital, saying I need this done, I need the surgery. No-one was listening, no-one was there to contact or answer the phone or get back in touch.
“By the end, he did not have energy, the pain took everything out of him. But he was still thinking about everybody else. He was on the ward with older people going to get their newspapers every morning.
“He knew he wouldn’t work as a dryliner again, but he was talking about going to work at the hospital as a porter to give something back, or volunteer at the Ticker Club [a support group for former cardiac patients at Wythenshawe Hospital].”
James before his illness (Image: Emma Walsh)
During the inquest, Ms Walsh thanked Dr Palmer for looking at James’ file. “You have confirmed everything we knew,” she said. “He was failed, time and time again, and we were not being listened to.
“I feel James would still be here if he was under different care. It is nice to know that someone else sees where we come from instead of just dismissing us.”
Family ‘shocked’ at inquest conclusion
In her conclusion, Ms McKenna acknowledged ‘the MDT process at Royal Oldham failed’ and that James’ chances of survival were reduced by the delays in this case.
But she made no recommendations to Northern Care Alliance, the trust responsible for both Royal Oldham Hospital. “I have heard evidence that the MDT process has been strengthened, and that doctors now differentiate between and prioritise patients,” she said.
“[The trust acknowledged] that there is a need for clinical ownership. That is what failed, and what was missing in this case.”
Ms McKenna recorded James’ death as the result of natural causes, as pericarditis ‘is a rare but naturally occurring condition’, she said.
But James’ family were ‘shocked’ at the conclusion. “We are shocked that it has gone down as a natural death,” Emma said afterwards. “We don’t want any family to go through what we went through.
“If he was treated earlier on it would not have gone further. He was failed by Northern Care Alliance.”
When contacted for comment, Dr Rafik Bedair, Chief Medical Officer at the NCA said: “We offer our deepest condolences to James’ family at this incredibly sad and difficult time. Our thoughts are with them as they continue to cope with their loss.
“Our investigation found that the care James received did not meet the standard he and his family should have expected, and we are truly sorry.
“Reducing waiting times and minimising any risk to our patients is our highest priority. We continue to take steps to improve the way we work and ensure that cases with urgent clinical needs move forward without delay.”