John Ian Young, 59, was on a five-year waiting list for the procedure before going under the knife at University Hospital Hairmyres on June 5. He died on June 21, just two weeks after the operation
The death of a 59-year-old dad just a fortnight after his long-awaited hip replacement is under investigation after he suffered a rare complication.
John Ian Young, originally from Glasgow’s east end before relocating to Holytown in North Lanarkshire, had been on a five-year waiting list for the operation which was carried out at University Hospital Hairmyres on June 5.
The procedure went smoothly and the father-of-two remained in the East Kilbride hospital for eight days. During this time, he received six clexane injections designed to prevent the formation or growth of blood clots. After being discharged, John continued an 11-day course of the medication at home.
The family voiced worries about his “jaundiced and clammy skin” to the doctors at the time of his discharge, and four days later, his urine turned “thick, lumpy and bright red” and he collapsed at home, reports Glasgow Live.
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“Something was seriously wrong”, his daughter Candice Coleman revealed to GlasgowLive.
Candice, a 33-year-old mother who resides in Blantyre and works for NHS Lanarkshire, rushed to her parents’ house and called an ambulance. With John’s breathing “weak” and his heart rate exceeding the normal resting rate (tachycardic), paramedics swiftly transported him to Wishaw General.
Upon arrival, Candice recalls how doctors told her her father “had a pulmonary embolism and potentially other blood clots throughout his body”, but they were uncertain about their exact locations.
She added: “They didn’t understand why he had blood clots because the whole point of the clexane injections was to prevent that. They gave him a heparin drip which was pumped into his body for six and a half hours.”
Candice said John developed heparin-induced thrombocytopenia and thrombosis. This is a severe condition where the body produces antibodies against a complex of heparin and platelet factor 4 (PF4), leading to platelet activation, a decrease in platelet count, and an elevated risk of perilous blood clots.
The prognosis was grim – a 20 percent chance of survival with amputation likely due to the lack of blood flow in his main arteries and abdomen.
“We were told there’s a 20 percent chance Dad was going to survive and the chances are they would have had to amputate both his legs because blood circulation had shut off at his main arteries and tummy. All the tissue in his legs were dying.”
Medical staff admitted to a lack of a concrete plan, focusing instead on comfort and hoping for a natural fight against the illness. “They said they didn’t have a plan because they didn’t know what they were dealing with, so they would make him as comfortable as possible and hope that he starts to fight it off naturally.
“But it was a fast moving condition which ended his life.”
John succumbed to a complex array of medical complications, including multi-organ failure and severe circulatory blockages. Candice, employed at Wishaw General Hospital, told how his final days were spent in agony. “In Dad’s case, which they say is rare, the injections caused an adverse effect and clotted his bloodstream.
“For four days, we watched Dad as he was dying a slow, painful death. The pain he was going through was like having a major heart attack over and over again, according to one of the cardiovascular doctors.
“It’s very frightening that they did not know what they were dealing with. Why are people not trained to know about this?”.
“The specialist at Wishaw said that he should have had a screening carried out before the heparin drip, but that wasn’t carried out. I asked why it wasn’t done and she said the A&E nurses weren’t aware of this condition. I replied that he’s also seen a doctor who prescribed the heparin drip. She said once they realised what they had done, they sent him to the cardiovascular department at Hairmyres.”
Candice, in her grief, pointed out systemic issues rather than individual hospital faults: “It’s an overall health board issue. There isn’t a single hospital to blame – the training of this condition isn’t up to standard where people know how to deal with it.”
His sudden death has devastated his wife Jacqueline, mother Anne, and the entire family prompting calls for the NHS to take heed and prevent future tragedies.
“We are devastated by the whole situation. My kids don’t have a grandpa any more. Gran is a broken woman; no mother should have to bury her child.
“How can I go back to work in an environment where I’m telling someone their family is going to be safe when my dad has been taken away? Somebody shouldn’t be robbed of their life because of a lack of training.
“They need to give out tests to see how people will react to the drugs. People shouldn’t be rushed out of hospital after major operations either.”
However, Candice thanks to the staff who cared for John in his final hours, adding: “At the very end, the staff did show compassion and made Dad as comfortable as he could be.”
NHS Lanarkshire have offered their condolences to the family.
An investigation into John’s death – which has been reported to the Procurator Fiscal – is ongoing but it could take up to three years, Candice has been told.
GlasgowLive has obtained a letter confirming that the health board will conduct a Significant Adverse Event Review (SAER) to determine the circumstances, causes, and potential lessons from a recent incident.
Russell Coulthard, director of acute services, expressed his condolences but refrained from discussing specifics, stating: “Although we are unable to comment on the details of this individual case just now, our thoughts and sympathies are with the family at this tragic time.”
He further assured: “NHS Lanarkshire will undertake a review of this patient’s death and our senior clinicians have already had extensive conversations with the family. We will continue to liaise directly with the family.”
The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service also weighed in, with a spokesperson revealing: “The Procurator Fiscal has received a report on the death of a 59-year-old man in East Kilbride on 21 June 2025.”
They added that the investigation is active and promised: “An investigation into the death is ongoing and significant developments will be shared with the family of John Young throughout the investigation.”
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