Woman happy night before death, nurse testifies
The nurse who administered Shaunnie Rebecca Payne’s medication and checked on her during the night before her death said she saw no warning signs.
Kathleen Hall was working the night shift in an intensive-care psychiatric unit at Alberta Hospital where Payne was a patient. Payne suffered from mental illness and was taking the anti-psychotic drug clozapine as part of her treatment.
After Payne was discovered unresponsive in her bed on Sept. 23, 2012, an autopsy found a toxic amount of clozapine in her blood.
Hall said Payne was checked on every 15 minutes. She personally checked on Payne twice after Payne went to sleep. Hall said she had an aide with her both times she checked on Payne and that they either saw or heard Payne breathing before leaving the room. Her last check of Payne was at 6:45 a.m. on Sept. 23.
Payne was found unresponsive between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m.
On Wednesday, medical examiner Dr. Bernard Bannach said that during an autopsy, the discovery of pooling of blood in the front of her body suggested Payne was likely dead for more than six hours before the body was moved.
Hall gave clozapine to Payne at 8:35 p.m. on Sept. 22. Hall said she is cautious when administering doses of clozapine because the prescribed amount of the drug is in milligrams, but the drug is given in liquid form and measured out in millilitres.
“I always double-check with a colleague to make sure I am giving a correct dose,” Hall said.
Hall testified that she remembers her interactions with Payne that evening clearly because Payne was happy and future-oriented.
“It kind of gave me a warm feeling inside because it was a really good interaction with her,” Hall said.
Payne’s family is attending the inquiry and is permitted to question witnesses.
Payne’s sister, Amelia Birch, said her sibling’s death may have been “spontaneous,” possibly caused by a cardiac event, but she said the inquiry is an important opportunity to explore whether there were any issues with her sister’s care or ability to access services.
The inquiry was expected to finish Friday.