AN elderly man died following an operation to repair his fractured hip after a fall in his home.

An inquest at Beaconsfield Coroner's Court on Thursday heard Haydn Evans, 85, from Little Chalfont died on December 29 at Stoke Mandeville Hospital.

A post mortem revealed he died from a pulmonary embolism, with complications arising from a periprosthetic fracture of the left femur and hypertension heart disease.

The inquest heard Mr Evans fell at his home during the night and was admitted to hospital on December 11, when his personal alarm alerted his neighbour.

Mr Evans had a hip replacement in 1999 and it was decided by consultants to operate to mend the fracture around the replacement.

Consultant orthopaedic surgeon, Geoffrey Taylor, said Mr Evans was due to have the operation on December 13, but the right equipment was not available and Mr Evans' health had deteriorated.

On December 16 Mr Evans decided not to have the operation due to the risk involved.

It was then scheduled again for the 24, but his health was not good enough, and on December 27 he had the operation, which went smoothly.

He was on traction meanwhile, but this method would take many months for the fracture to join and there is a high chance it would not.

When asked if an earlier operation would have made a difference, Mr Taylor said: "It is a very difficult question to answer. The original plan was to do it shortly after admission but in fact his condition deteriorated and even if we had all the equipment the operation would have been cancelled at that point."

Following the operation Mr Evans' blood pressure continued to drop, despite extra measures taken. He died on December 29.

Assistant coroner, Ann Davies, recorded a verdict of accidental death.