MF DOOM‘s family have received an apology from the hospital accused of neglecting the rapper’s care ahead of his death.
On Thursday (July 6), The Guardian reported that a representative for the hospital where the London-born musician died issued a statement following an inquest into his death by his widow Jasmin Thompson.
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“I would like to offer our sincere condolences to [MF Doom’s] family, friends and fans at this difficult time. I apologise that the care he received was not to the standard we would expect,” St. James Hospital chief medical officer, Dr Hamish McLure, told the publication.
“Following his sad death we undertook a serious incident investigation and the report has been shared with Daniel’s family,” the statement continued. “As a result we have put in place a number of actions and the wider learning from what happened is to be used as a teaching topic in a number of different clinical specialities. We also support the coroner’s recommendation for clearer national guidance and awareness in this area.”
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The “Rhymes Like Dimes” rapper and producer (real name was Daniel Dumile Thompson) passed away in October 2020 at the age of 49. Whereas the cause of his demise was initially concealed from the public, it was later revealed that it was the product of side effects from taking ACE inhibitors.
After ingesting just two doses of blood pressure medication that he had been prescribed, the masked icon had a severe reaction called Angioedema that resulted in his throat, tongue and lips swelling. He was subsequently admitted to the A&E department at a hospital in Leeds, England.
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During the inquest hearing, DOOM’s wife explained the staff’s alleged negligence of her husband’s needs contributed to his deteriorating condition (via Leeds Live). According to Thompson, DOOM was unable to alert those on duty about needing help because his buzzer wasn’t within reach.
At one point, he even called her because he was struggling to breathe but couldn’t inform anyone that he needed assistance. She then had to get on a separate phone call to inform a nurse of the immediacy of the situation.
Regarding the condition of the room, Thompson told Wakefield Coroner’s Court: “I don’t want to say it was an old storage room … it wasn’t set up. Maybe it was a room a long time ago. It did have a bed in it.”
The medics, however, maintain that it was a functioning unit of their emergency department.
Thompson also said that she wasn’t allowed to visit DOOM due to restrictions of the coronavirus pandemic, saying: “I was not able to see him until the 31st [of October] – that’s when the respirator was turned off that was helping him breathe.”
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As per her statement, DOOM had gained weight and was dealing with anxiety after developing kidney disease, among other health conditions, all of which required close monitoring. She said that he had been complaining about his troubles with breathing. After falling off his hospital trolley, the MC had a respiratory arrest that led to his death.
MF DOOM, who had multiple aliases and a mystifying presence in the public despite his fame, had been living in the UK since 2010. A few months after his passing, the tragic news was announced via an Instagram post on the final day of 2020.
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In a note to her departed partner, his wife referred to him as the “greatest husband, father, teacher, student, business partner, lover and friend I could ever ask for.”
