Patient hurt in five hospital falls
An elderly stroke patient suffered a broken nose and a suspected fractured eye socket and broken wrist in a fall from his hospital bed – the fifth fall within two weeks.
Patrick Burke, 78, was admitted to Christchurch Hospital in mid-December after a stroke and suffered further paralysis while being transferred to Burwood Hospital before Christmas, wife Diane Burke said.
The stroke left him paralysed on his right side, incontinent, unable to sit up in bed, and with impaired cognitive function and speech.
The former air force officer had lived in an aged care facility before the stroke, and had minor dementia.
Just a week ago, his wife learned he had fallen for a fifth time at Burwood Hospital.
‘‘Staff found him lying on the floor of his room in a pool of blood, with a broken nose, with a suspected fractured eye socket and suspected fractured wrist and bruising all around,’’ she said.
‘‘That was Friday night and I’d only been gone from the ward for two hours.’’
In the two weeks prior, he had fallen from his wheelchair four times during mealtimes. His wife had filed a written complaint and spoken to the hospital manager in person, but said she worried other patients would experience similar problems.
In July last year, a coroner’s inquest was held for stroke patient Robin Shaw, 80, who died after slipping and bumping her head on a wall at Burwood Hospital while being helped in the shower by a nurse. The coroner has yet to release their findings.
Of the 627 adverse events reported by New Zealand’s district health boards to the Health Quality & Safety Commission in 2019-20, 231 referred to harm caused by falls.
The Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) declined to answer questions about Patrick Burke, saying it would breach his privacy, despite his wife signing a privacy waiver on his behalf.
Diane Burke said she believed the ward her husband was in was ‘‘grossly’’ understaffed, with only two to three nurses and one nurse aide taking care of up to 24 high-needs stroke patients overnight.
CDHB older persons health and rehabilitation general manager Helen Skinner said the number of nursing staff on the ward was based on daily patient needs.
The stroke ward had at least six nurses in the morning and five in the afternoon. Overnight there was a minimum of two nurses and one health care assistant.
Diane Burke said a nurse responsible for her husband’s care told her he had fallen from his wheelchair several times, but staff caught him before his head hit the floor. ‘‘I took a very deep breath and said: well, what are you going to do about it? She said: there’s nothing I can do.’’
The nurses later told her they could not use a seatbelt she bought for her husband’s wheelchair because they were not allowed to restrain patients.
Skinner said all forms of restraint required approval from a governance group.
‘‘A patient’s risk of falling is assessed on admission and any emerging risk factors are reviewed as their condition changes, with interventions tailored to meet any new identified risks.’’
During his stay at Christchurch Hospital, Patrick Burke had been put on 24-hour watch, with a nurse aide sitting in his room.
A hospital aide was assigned to watch him during his first night at Burwood only.
Diane Burke insisted the hospital reinstate a 24-hour watch after he fell from his bed, and that had been in place since.
She is seeking legal opinion about getting a court order to have the seatbelt used when her husband is using a wheelchair.
‘‘Staff found him lying on the floor of his room in a pool of blood, with a broken nose . . .’’
Diane Burke