Family agony over mum’s hospital death
A MUM suffering from a disturbed state of mind fell to her death from the top of a hospital’s stairwell after being left unsupervised.
The devastated family of a Michaela Fowler, 60, have called for lessons to be learned after reaching a settlement with Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield.
On June 12, 2018, Michaela was taken to the city’s main hospital by ambulance complaining of breathing difficulties, accompanied by her husband Stephen.
The mum-of-two suffered from COPD and osteoporosis but Stephen said she was also showing signs of delirium and displaying strange behaviour. He expressed concerns over his wife’s mental state and said she had been confused and exhibiting abnormal behaviour.
She was reviewed by the hospital’s acute assessment unit and her delirium was thought to be a result of her COPD. Michaela, from Overton, Wakefield, was admitted to a ward.
A nurse was required to change bedding and left the mum-of-two alone for ‘a few minutes,’ a report states. At this point, Michaela left the ward. Shortly afterwards, she was found to have fallen from the top floor of the hospital’s stairwell.
Resuscitation was attempted, but she was pronounced dead during the early hours of June 14 as a result of the injuries sustained in the fall. Following
her death, Stephen and sons Michael and Daniel instructed medical negligence experts at Irwin Mitchell to investigate the care Michaela received under Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs Pinderfields Hospital.
Stephen, who was married to Michaela for 32 years, said: “Losing Michaela so suddenly and tragically left the family devastated and I still think about her every day.
“Michaela and I were going to live out the rest of our years together and that’s been taken from us in the worst way. To know how much Daniel and Michael miss their mum is heartbreaking. I really wish I could turn back the clock and stop it from happening, but I know that isn’t possible. All I can hope for now is that something is learnt from this to stop other families from facing such pain and suffering as I wouldn’t wish this on anyone.”
A report from Niche Health and Social Care Consulting stated that Michaela’s death “may have been preventable” if national guidance on the management of delirium was “clearer and more decisive in how interventions should be managed” and if staff were “familiar and trained in the use of this guidance.”
The report recommended a review and re-launch of the delirium guidelines at the Trust along with training on the identification, treatment and management of delirium.
The family’s legal team has now secured an undisclosed settlement from Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS
Trust in connection with Michaela’s death. This follows on from an admission by the Trust that once it had been decided that Michaela needed one to one care, “she should not have been left alone at any stage”, adding that “leaving her alone constitutes a breach of duty.” It further admitted that had she not been left alone, “on the balance of probabilities she would not have left the ward” and her fall “would have been avoided.”
David Melia, Director of Nursing and Quality at The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “We want to reassure the family that we have implemented all of the recommendations of the Niche Health and Social Care Consulting report so that we can provide a safer environment to patients in our care.”