Chesterfield family pay tribute to 'the best dad and grandad in the world' following inquest into his death

Steven Marriott, 64, of Chesterfield, passed away suddenly on October 23, 2023, after collapsing while playing bowls.

The inquest into his death took place on March 12 in Chesterfield and the court heard his cause of death included heart disease, coronary artery atherosclerosis and hypertension.

Steven, who was a buyer at Lambert Construction and Civil Engineering, leaves three children – Sophie, Jessica and Thomas and six grandchildren.

Steven’s daughter Sophie Hopkins, 31, said: “He was the best dad in the world. He was our best friend as well as our parent. His family meant everything to him and he was everything to us.

"We lost our mom in 2011 when I was 19, and he has taken on the role of both parents and did it perfectly. He was an amazing grandad. Every day after work he would always visit all of us in three different houses around Chesterfield and spend time with his grandchildren. They adored him and came up with different names for him – such as Grandad Cats, because he had cats or Little Grandad.”

Steven was passionate about bowling, rugby and photography. He often watched Chesterfield Panthers games with his son Thomas, who used to play for the team.

Steven’s funeral service took place on November 25 at St Peter's Church and was attended by over 250 people. It was followed by the wake held at Chesterfield Panthers Rugby Club, on Dunston Road which saw almost £1,000 raised for British Heart Foundation.

Sophie said: “People could not fit in the church because there wasn’t enough space for everyone. Dad was well-known and liked in Hollymoorside. He was quite a character – he could make anybody laugh and he filled the room.”

The inquest heard that Steven has been struggling with his health for a few years. In 2014 he was diagnosed with hypertension and at the beginning of 2023 he was told he had a heart failure.

He was struggling with symptoms including shortness of breath and had several appointments with the doctors – mainly over the phone. As a result, his hypertension medicine dose was increased and Stephen tried to make changes to his lifestyle and become more active.

He had his last telephone appointment with his GP on the day of his death about a separate health issue, before he collapsed at Bowling Green in the afternoon.

Sophie, who is a nurse, said: “He was playing bowl when he became short of breath. I checked his pulse and it didn’t feel right, he felt dizzy and he collapsed. There was no breathing, no cardiac action.

"I started CPR and I could feel his ribs cracking. I was giving him breath. My 10-year-old daughter saw it all. Other people helped with compression and I continued with the breaths.

"The ambulance arrived soon and they shocked him with a defibrilator. They manage to get his heart to beat again. They took him to the ambulance to get to the hospital and I was following the ambulance. But he died upon arrival.

"If he had been treated for the osteosclerosis, his heart attack could have been milder, he could have been rescued. He was about to retire in 10 months and he was looking forward to it. He made plans to spend more time with his grandchildren. It makes it more difficult for us.

“Years of memories have been taken away from us. We now will have birthdays, Christmases and family occasions without him. How many more families have lost someone due to lack of diagnosis or face-to-face visit?”

The inquest heard extensive evidence from three doctors from Wheatbridge Surgery, including Dr Joshi, Dr Olotu and Dr Al-Sahab, who outlined Steven’s medical history. The recording of a phone call with his GP on the day of his death was also played.

The court heard that Steven was told he had heart failure during a phone call in February 2023 – but did not understand the diagnosis.

He then had a follow up phone call at the end of April and a face-to-face appointment a day later. Steven had further phone appointments later in the year.

The family expressed their disappointment in the way Steven’s care was handled and asked why he was not seen face-to-face or had a cholesterol check – especially since he struggled with shortness of high blood pressure, breath, heart palpitations and chest tightness.

The doctors explained that they focused on managing his blood pressure in the hope of reducing the strain on Steven’s heart and reflected on what they could have done differently.

Dr Ali Al-Sahab said: “It is very sad that a person has passed away because of this. But we take everything in and learn from this. NHS initiative is to phone people when possible. It’s always better to do face-to-face appointments. From now on if a patient gets a serious diagnosis like a heart failure we will offer them a follow-up appointment within a month – and within limitations we will give a patient an option to have a face-to-face appointment.”

Coroner Sue Evans, who concluded that Steven’s cause of death was natural, said: “In the eight months preceding his death, Steven had a number of appointments with his General Practitioners and was diagnosed with heart failure. Doctors were managing his symptoms with medication alongside which, he was making changes to his lifestyle.

"During his life, it was not known that as well as heart failure he also had coronary artery atherosclerosis. His symptoms were managed as if they were symptoms of heart failure. It is not possible to say on the evidence whether, had both conditions been known about, the outcome would have been different.”