SYDNEY: A man who suffered a stroke in a lavatory in Royal North Shore Hospital, one of Sydney’s busiest hospitals, was not found by staff until the next day.
Officials at RNSH have confirmed that the man, 67, was found by a cleaner in a public toilet in its Outpatients’ Department. He had gone unnoticed by staff for 21 hours.
On Wednesday the 67-year-old North Shore man was in a critical condition in the same hospital with his family by his bedside.
An urgent inquiry has been ordered into how the man, who arrived at the hospital for a medical appointment at 0930 on Monday 10 August 2015, ended up not being noticed by staff.
When he did not return home from the appointment his concerned wife called the hospital, Channel 9 reported last night. She was told by staff that her husband had not turned up for the scheduled appointment and they had no idea of his whereabouts.
At 0630 on Tuesday, 11 August, a cleaner found the unconscious man in the Outpatients public lavatory.
Left alone
Health Minister Jillian Skinner on Wednesday night said: This is a distressing case and I extend my sympathy to this gentleman and his family. The hospital immediately amended its end of day shutdown processes to include a review of public toilets in outpatient areas,” she said.
Andrew Montague, of RNS,H told Channel 9 that a review of CCTV footage shows the man arriving at RNSH on Monday morning.
“But we weren’t aware that he actually turned up to the Outpatients departments,” Dr Montague said.
When nurses close the department each day they only check the waiting and medical areas and not the lavatories.
“I’d describe it as something you’d never want to see, but we need to make sure we look after the gentleman now”.
In 2007 a woman, 14 weeks pregnant, miscarried in a public lavatory at RNSH, leading to a public inquiry into the public health system.
Lorraine Long, from the Medical Error Action Group, on Wednesday night said the hospital system is under staffed.
“The person was not at a bus terminal, the person was in a hospital,” she said.
SAD POSTCRIPT
The 67-year-old man died Friday, 14 August 2015, in the same hospital where he was neglected, after never regaining consciousness.
