An elderly patient who survived brain surgery later died because of hospital neglect, a coroner has ruled.

George Robson, 75, of Shirley, suffered a fatal cardiac arrest triggered by bleeding from a gastric ulcer at King's College Hospital in December 2012. 

The ulcer was caused by wrongly administered medication in a "gross failure" by the hospital's NHS trust, an inquest at Southwark Coroner's Court heard.

Mr Robson had been admitted to the hospital in October 2012 after slipping in his garden and banging his head, leading to the brain haemorrhage.

Doctors carried out life-saving brain surgery, but he later died after suffering a large gastrointestinal bleed.

The inquest heard hospital staff had continued to prescribe Mr Robson the drug naproxen, which he had taken for years to relieve arthritis pain, during his admission, but did not give him a second drug, omeprezole, which treats stomach ulcers and which he was supposed to take with it. 

Mr Robson would probably not have died if omeprezole had been prescribed, the court heard during the inquest on May 20 and 21.

King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust's report into his death claimed the drug had not been given to Mr Robson because he had contracted clostridium difficile infection, but his medical records showed that the infection was only identified three weeks after doctors prescribed naproxen. 

The inquest also heard no routine checks were made on patients' medication and Mr Robson continued to receive naproxen even after exhibiting clear signs of bleeding.

Recording a narrative verdict, Dr Andrew Harris concluded Mr Robson's treatment amounted to neglect, legally defined as "gross failure to provide adequate nourishment or liquid, or provide or procure basic medical attention".

He paid tribute to Mr Robson's wife Margaret, who despite being "overwhelmed by grief" had fought to bring the circumstances of her husband's death to light.

Following the inquest, she said: "I can reassure myself that I have done all I can to find out what happened to George and trying to instigate change."

A King's College Hospital spokesman said: "We have apologised to Mrs Robson for the shortcomings in the care and treatment her husband received at King’s. 

"The care Mr Robson received following neurosurgery at the hospital fell below the high standards we set ourselves, and we recognise this was unacceptable. 

"Lessons have been learnt from this case, and we continue to make every effort to improve the safety of the services we provide.

The trust has since brought in measures to improve the way medicines are administered and reviewed.

It is also planning to introduce an electronic prompt system so clinical staff always consider whether gastric protection is required when naproxen is prescribed.

Charlotte Connor, a case worker at the charity Action Against Medical Accidents, which represented Mr Robson's family, said: "We hope that lessons can be learned from Mr Robson’s sad death and that meaningful steps can be taken so that incidents like this can be avoided in the future."