The care and support quadriplegics receive at Karl Bremer Hospital during hospitalisation came under the spotlight after two residents of Andries Olivier Quadriplegics Centre in Durbanville passed away in the hospital in less than two months.
Charlene Davids, sister of Denver Baron, who was elected as chair of the home a day before his death, laid a complaint with the hospital after he died of sepsis or kidney failure on Sunday 16 July, allegedly due to negligence by the nursing staff. “They are not even sure of the cause of death yet,” Davids says.
Baron died within a month of another resident, Dion Botha, who had died in hospital on 16 June.
Reluctant to go to hospital
Residents of the home are now reluctant to go to hospital, but have no other choice if they do hot have a medical aid. “Nursing staff often do not care or have minimal knowledge of the care quadriplegics need. Even doctors do not listen to quadriplegics, who have been living with their disability for years and know their bodies, or family members who have walked the road with them,” says Rosabelle Riese, also a resident and administrator of the home.
She has also brought the treatment of Baron under the attention of the provincial department of health and wellness.
Davids told TygerBurger her brother was admitted to hospital on Tuesday 11 July in a confused state with what was later diagnosed as sepsis due to bedsores. His three different types of chronic medication were handed to the staff to make a note of it in his file and then handed to nursing staff, but five days later on the day he died, his doctor was not even aware that he needs chronic medicine.
When she visited him two days later, she found him sedated because “he was a bit too unruly with the staff in the emergency ward, according to his file”, Davids says.
“She (the doctor) said she will stop the sedation to monitor his kidney function as his kidney function has weakened due to years of catheter use. She also checked his bedsores and asked the nurses to change the dressings,” she says.
But when Davids visited her brother that same evening, he was still under sedation and was lying on one of his bedsores.
Negligence
“My sister and I found that Denver’s urine bag was kinked, he sweated a lot, his drip was leaking and the drip coil was wrapped around his neck. After we straightened the catheter and drip coil, I went to the nurses’ station and informed them that his drip was leaking.
“A sister came into the ward and looked at his drip bag and left without saying or doing anything,” she says.
When she visited him again on Sunday 16 July, the sister told her Baron was “very rude and called for help all the time and to be turned”.
Davids noticed that Denver was back into a confused state and he was uncomfortable “as he kept trying to move and slipped in and out of sleep”.
“He asked me to turn him on his back and I noticed that his drip was empty. I discovered that his bed was wet and also noticed his condom catheter was broken, causing the wet linen.” She was told they do not have stock and that only a doctor can change it.
She says the sister became agitated when she asked for clean linen. When she told the sister her brother’s condition is worsening, “she told me that she does not know the patient and could not know if he was in a confused state and that she did not notice any setback”.
Calling for help
“I told the sister the nurse complained to me about Denver calling for help all the time, clearly irritated about it. She said that they were short-staffed and could not come every time Denver called.”
She asked the sister if she could stay the night “as Denver was very confused and uncomfortable – just to take the weight off the sisters with his constant calling for help. She told me it was not hospital policy to let family members stay.”
The doctor arrived hours later. “I explained to her that Denver seemed to be in distress and calling for help all the time. She interrupted me and said that they were short-staffed and that they must finish their rounds.
“She told me that it was normal for a patient with his condition to go back and forth into a state of confusion.
“I asked her if I could stay as the staff was clearly irritated with Denver’s calls for help and that I could be with him to make him comfortable and calm. She told me that Denver is not a minor and that he is not critical, and we should leave.
“She then left without approaching Denver’s bed or speaking to him, without examining him in any way, without checking his file as I have asked several times. It was hard leaving my brother in the state that he was and nobody seemed to listen or care.”
A few hours later, at about midnight, her sister called to say that Denver has passed away.
“Denver’s life mattered to me, and his family, and he was important to us. Denver endured suffering and pain because no nurse or the doctor cared enough to examine him. If they did, I believe that they would have established that he was in a critical condition. He was not able-bodied and could not help himself,” she says.
“I feel and believe that the staff played with my brother’s life, robbed me of the opportunity to be with him in his last hours alive, failed him and their carelessness and failure to examine him that could have led to proper preventative measures and care for his condition, cost him his life,” she says.
Shimoney Regter, communications officer of the provincial health and wellness department, told TygerBurger they have implemented corrective measures.
“We would like to extend our sincere condolences to the family for the loss of their loved one. Our visitation and access control policy does make provision for a family member to escort a vulnerable patient where circumstances allow. We view their concerns in a very serious light. We have looked into each aspect of the complaint and have identified areas where we can improve our service offering. The hospital will address concerns raised by the family regarding staff behaviour. Corrective measures have been implemented and will be monitored closely,” Regter says.
