After St James’s Hospital in Leeds was accused of mismanaging the rapper’s treatment, the NHS has been forced to issue an apology, stating: ‘the care he received was not to the standard we would expect’
MF DOOM’s cause of death has been revealed, two and a half years since the British-American rapper passed away. DOOM, whose real name is Daniel Dumile, died on October 31, 2020 due to a condition called angioedema, a rare reaction to blood pressure medication where body parts can suddenly become swollen. The musician passed away at St. James’s Hospital in Leeds, where he and his family had been living since 2010.
Earlier this week, LeedsLive reported that an inquiry into DOOM’s death heard that he had been prescribed angiotensin-converting-enzyme (ACE) inhibitors for his high blood pressure, but after only two doses his tongue and throat began to swell and he was admitted to A&E. DOOM’s wife Jasmine Dumile, also told Wakefield Coroner’s Court that she had voiced concerns at the time about her husband’s treatment at St. James’s.
At an inquest into his death, the Leeds teaching hospitals NHS trust which runs St James’s acknowledged there had been “missed opportunities” during his treatment and apologised for the substandard level of care DOOM received. Dr Hamish McLure, chief medical officer of the trust, said: “I would like to offer our sincere condolences to Daniel’s family, friends and fans at this difficult time. I apologise that the care he received was not to the standard we would expect.”
“Following his sad death we undertook a serious incident investigation and the report has been shared with Daniel’s family. 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.”
According to Jasmine Dumile, there was a two-hour delay in treating her husband’s swollen throat, and when he was finally given a bed the room contained “an old metal desk” and appeared to be “a hospital room a very long time ago”. The hospital has since said that the bed was in a standard room of the emergency department.
Jasmine Dumile’s legal representatives also reported concerns about how often DOOM was checked by staff, and Dumile also claimed that DOOM was not able to alert hospital staff of his worsening condition because his buzzer was too far out of reach. Because of COVID restrictions at the time, Dumile was not able to visit her husband during his final days in hospital.
DOOM’s death cast a long shadow over the hip-hop community, with many greats paying tribute to the musician’s career when the news was announced on New Year's Eve 2020. Flying Lotus said that his “soul was crushed”, while Q-Tip tweeted “RIP to another giant, your favourite MC’s MC”. Since DOOM’s untimely passing, Madlib has confirmed that he is finishing a sequel to their seminal collaborative album Madvillainy, released in 2004, and Thom Yorke also shared a remix of the DOOM track “Gazillion Ear”.
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