An inquest will be taking place following the death of a resident of the Sue Ryder centre in Chantry.

Darren Walker died on November 29, 2022 at the age of 55. Mr Walker died in Ipswich Hospital, having been transported to hospital by ambulance on November 21.

On Friday, a pre-inquest review was held at Suffolk Coroners’ Court in Ipswich ahead of a full investigation into Mr Walker’s death.

The court heard that prior to his hospital stay, Mr Walker was a resident at Sue Ryder – The Chantry hospice in Hadleigh Road, Ipswich.

The centre provides care to adults living with physical disabilities, dementia, and sensory impairments.

The court heard that Mr Walker required care from Sue Ryder due to being involved in a road traffic accident a number of years ago, in which he was a pedestrian. The collision left Mr Walker with a brain injury.

Presiding coroner Darren Stewart OBE said that, ultimately, Mr Walker died from aspiration pneumonia.

It was heard in court that the family of Mr Walker have "concerns" regarding the care and treatment he received at the Sue Ryder centre.

Safeguarding concerns were raised in the earlier part of 2022, and again after Mr Walker’s death. The court heard that both occasions were investigated by police.

Mr Stewart said that, on the day of November 21, an emergency call was made by staff at the Sue Ryder centre at 11.19am.

He said that this call should have been graded category two, which would have required a response time of within 18 minutes.

However, an error ensured that the call was incorrectly graded and an ambulance crew arrived at 2.22pm, three hours later.

Mr Stewart said that the full inquest is likely to be held towards the beginning of next year, with another pre-inquest review expected to take place in September.