Death of The Very Reverend Andreas Garivaldinos, 82 - Greek Orthodox Priest dies after church stair fall
Published: 23 December 2010
By JOSIE HINTON
A GREEK Orthodox priest died after accidentally falling down the stairs of his Kentish Town church, an inquest heard.
The Very Reverend Andreas Garivaldinos, 82, a respected priest at St Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Cathedral, in Kentish Town Road, died on October 14 after suffering a “catastrophic” bleed in his brain following the fall.
St Pancras Coroner’s Court heard how the priest, of Farrier Street, was taken to the Royal Free Hospital after slipping on the stairs while carrying a bowl of rice, but doctors found he had suffered an inoperable brain haemorrhage and was lucky to be alive.
The Right Reverend Chrysostomos Bishop of Kyanea told Thursday’s hearing that he was in his flat above the church hall when he heard a “loud metallic noise” from below.
“I saw my priest on his back on the first-floor landing, and I noticed grains of rice on the eighth and ninth step,” he said in a statement. “I found a parishioner who is a registered nurse and asked him to call an ambulance and when I returned I found him [Rev Garivaldinos] on his knees and I helped him go down the stairs and sit on a stair.”
Rev Garivaldinos recovered his movement and speech but was taken to the Pond Street hospital just after 1pm.
The court heard that despite suffering a suspected head injury, he didn’t receive a CT scan until around 4pm,
meaning that doctors didn’t realise the extent of his injuries.
Neurosurgical registrar Cormac Gavin told the court that after seeing the results of the scan he was “surprised” the 82-year-old had come into the hospital alive. “Most patients are found dead in their homes after sustaining this kind of injury,” he added.
Rev Garivaldinos remained in the accident and emergency department as his condition deteriorated and he died at 5.30am. His family were not told of the poor prognosis.
Dr Jonathan Costello of the Royal Free conceded a scan should be performed within an hour in the case of suspected head injuries, but added it was a particularly busy day.
He said: “There were two other trauma patients requiring scans just before he presented, and it was a busy day with 66 scans between 9am and 5pm. This by no means excuses the situation but it’s a confounded problem.”
Coroner Selina Lynch said it was a shame the hospital had not found time to instruct Rev Garivaldinos’ sons to say their goodbyes.
Recording a verdict of accidental death, she added: “The difficulty for the family is that no-one sat them down and said you need to enjoy the very short time you’ve got with him.
“The problem, in my view, is one I’ve seen many times over the years, and that is poor communication.”