The family of Ramsgate resident and actor Anthony (Tony) Mathews, 81, have remembered how he “he lit up the room” and said they were given “no time to say goodbye” when he died at the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital in Margate in 2023.
An inquest into Tony’s death concluded this week.
In her closing remarks, Coroner Sarah Clarke told Maidstone Coroner’s Court that clinicians had been “perplexed” by Tony’s sudden death from a bleed in his abdomen, known as an intraperitoneal haemorrhage, and cardiac shock.
During the hearing, lawyers for Tony’s family raised concerns that some of the evidence given by staff at the trust during the inquest went against both previous statements that were made and the findings of the serious incident report they commissioned.
Tony was born in Chichester, West Sussex in 1942 and had been living in Ramsgate before he died. He leaves behind his wife of 50 years, Narissa, two sons, Kent and Eliot, and four young grandchildren.
His acting career spanned more than five decades. On screen, Tony was known for his roles in some of the biggest television shows of the 1970s, 80s and 90s, including The Bill, Poirot, The Governor and Inspector Morse. He had starring roles on stage, which included creating the part of Frederick Fellows in the first production of Noises Off at the Savoy Theatre in London’s West End.
Narissa recalled Tony’s love of reading, cricket and bridge and said he “lit up all our lives – we will always miss him”. She said the sudden circumstances of Tony’s death left his family with “no time to say goodbye”.
Tony died on Saturday 16 December 2023 at QEQM Hospital following colostomy reversal surgery.
The inquest was heard at Kent and Medway Coroners Court, Oakwood House, Maidstone from Monday 3 to Wednesday 5 March.
It heard evidence from Tony’s surgeon, a pathologist, a gastroenterologist who specialises in treating polyps, a haematologist, a biomedical scientist from a QEQM laboratory and a critical care nurse – from East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust.
It also heard from an expert who helped compile an independent report into Tony’s death for the Trust. The serious incident report acknowledged that Tony should have been taken back to theatre to investigate the unresolving low blood pressure and low haemoglobin.
On Wednesday 4 March, Coroner Sarah Clarke concluded that on 13 December 2023, Tony underwent an elective stoma reversal, and that the operation was uneventful. Post-surgery, he suffered an abdominal bleed known as an intraperitoneal haemorrhage.
The coroner said the bleeding was likely exacerbated by the administration of anti-coagulant treatment, correctly given for his atrial fibrillation and that despite showing signs of improvement, Tony was found dead on 16 December, as a result of a cardiac shock.
Tony’s son, Kent said: “My Dad, Tony Mathews was a loving father, and a talented actor and painter.
“He was a sharp, funny man and his energy always lit up a room. Even at the end he was making jokes with doctors from what we now realise was his death bed.
“The family are very thankful to the court and to our lawyer for all their work to find out what happened to him and come to a conclusion about how and why he died.
“It has been a thorough investigation, and we now have some closure, which is what we hoped for.
“Rest in peace, Dad.”
In a written statement Narissa said: “My husband Anthony (Tony) Mathews and I were together for fifty years. We were seldom apart. His sudden and unexpected death has been catastrophic for all the family. There was no time to say goodbye.
“Our sons Kent and Eliot have been so supportive to me while dealing with their own loss as well.
“Tony was an actor, a comedian in the true sense of the word, a very funny man! He created the part of Frederick Fellows in the first production of ’Noises Off’ at the Savoy Theatre. He was a devoted theatre actor for over fifty years as well as playing in television and film productions. He was also a talented painter exhibiting in the UK and France and I am very glad to have some of his work to remember him by.
“His presence lit a room with his humour and generous personality. As one of his dear friends, when learning of his death, wrote, ‘He lit up my life’. He lit up all our lives. We will always miss him.
“Until the day of his death, he was still a very engaged man, an active member of book clubs, a regular bridge player, a devoted cricket fan and a committed Francophile, spending several months a year in Burgundy.
“He leaves behind him, a wife, two adult children and four grandchildren ranging from 11 to 7 years old.
“An actor, a painter, a bon vivant who lit up the room, a husband, father and grandfather. He is sorely missed and will continue to be so.”
Until the day of his death, he was still a very engaged man, an active member of book clubs, a regular bridge player, a devoted cricket fan and a committed Francophile, spending several months a year in Burgundy.
He leaves behind him, a wife, two adult children and four grandchildren ranging from 11 to 7 years old.
An actor, a painter, a bon vivant who lit up the room, a husband, father and grandfather. He is sorely missed and will continue to be so.”
‘Missed opportunity’
Frankie Rhodes, a senior associate solicitor of law firm Leigh Day that was representing Tony’s family, said: “Tony’s family are satisfied that the coroner conducted a full investigation into his death and note that she did acknowledge he should have been transferred to the surgical ward at an earlier stage, and there was also a missed opportunity to activate the Major Haemorrhage Protocol when he was deteriorating on the morning of 15 December.
“The coroner concluded that she could not rule out that Tony was suffering from an ongoing slow bleed. The family do have some questions about the rationale for the bleed being deemed an old bleed and why active bleeding was excluded. I was surprised to hear the pathologist say that the 3 litres of blood found in Tony’s abdomen was one of the largest collections of blood he had seen.
“It is a matter of record that some of the evidence given by staff at the trust during the inquest went against both previous statements that were made and also the findings of the serious incident report they commissioned.
“I felt very pleased to be able to support Tony’s family through the inquest process and allow them to seek some closure about what happened to lead to the unexpected death of a much-loved husband, father and grandfather.”
Counsel for the family is Daniel Laking of 39 Essex Chambers
