Kiwi dies after being tied to bed for days
Kelly Savage spent 10 days strapped to a bed in a psychiatric hospital ward in Japan before dying of a heart attack.
The Wellington man’s family is demanding answers, claiming the restraints were a breach of the 27-year-old’s human rights. They are calling for the practice to be banned in Japan.
Martha Savage said her son’s official cause of death was a heart attack. She believed it was likely triggered by the restraints.
‘‘It was very shocking. How could they put him in restraints, basically tied to his bed,‘‘ she said.
‘‘He needed to be in the hospital. He was in a lot of distress and he needed help ... he wasn’t violent in any way, he didn’t hurt anybody.’’
Savage said her son’s heart attack, which occurred on May 17, could have resulted from a blood clot brought on by his immobility.
‘‘If six hours on an aeroplane can be a problem, 10 days being tied down could be a problem too.’’
Kelly was moved to a general hospital after the heart attack but remained unconscious and died several days later.
His mother, who works as a professor at Wellington’s Victoria University, said the only thing hospital nurses did to mitigate the risk of deep vein thrombosis was to apply and check his pressure stockings.
An autopsy did not find any heart defects but also failed to find any conclusive evidence of a clot.
Savage said an interaction of the strong medications that her son was taking may also have contributed.
The hospital claimed to have released her son for short periods to bathe and eat, she said. But they had refused to release nurse records that would support this claim, despite allowing relatives to see his general medical records.
Her family did not believe this, however, and Savage said the restraints were most likely used continuously to the point where her other son, Pat, was asked for money for nappies, because Kelly would not be able to use the toilet.
The family are approaching a judge, who will be able to demand the nurse records be released.
‘‘They are effectively blocking everything, and making things drag out, and we have to go through legal precedings,’’ Savage said.
The mother and brother are now telling Kelly’s story in the hope that Japan will phase out the use of such restraints.
They will speak at a press conference outside the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare next Wednesday, as part of the launch of a new awareness group that opposes the widespread use of restraints in Japanese hospitals.
‘‘They are not the only hospital that does this.
‘‘It’s widespread throughout Japan,’’ Savage said.
‘‘There’s bound to be people who have gone through the same thing we have, and we want to stop that. We don’t want anyone else to go through the loss of a loved one through such a horrible experience.’’
Under United Nations regulations, patient restraints should should not be ‘‘prolonged beyond the period which is strictly necessary for this purpose’’.
Savage said her son was calm after arriving at the psychiatric hospital.
Kiyohiko Hamada, a spokesman from the Japanese Embassy in Wellington, said Japanese officials were assisting the Savage family.
He was not sure how common the use of restraints was in Japanese hospitals but the country cohered to international standards, he said.
‘‘We felt very much sadness to hear this news,’’ Hamada said.
‘‘Our ambassador also expressed his deepest sorrow and sincerest condolences to the family members.’’