A PARENT’S COMPLAINT

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XIX, Issue 304, 10 December 1929, Page 8

A PARENT’S COMPLAINT

CHILD'S DISCHARGE FROM HOSPITAL. HOW IT HAPPENED. Complaint regarding the discharge of a little girl from the Napier Hospital was made at the November meeting of the Hawke’s Bay Hospital Board by Mr. 8- J. McKee when it was stated that she had left ihe institution without the knowledge of her parents, and after waiting on the road for over two hours her plight was noticed by a lady who took steps for her to be sent to her home in Hastings. At yesterday's meeting of the board the chairman Mr. C- ,0. Morse brought forward the following letter from Mr McKee:

“As promised by telephone yestei day ] made full inquiries from the mother of the little girl, with a view to discovering if any part of my statement made at the board meet ing could he withdrawn or retracted. I very much regret to find that on the contrary the case presents an even worse aspect, and this is even in face of the fact that the mother does not in any way desire to niak'any trouble with the hospital staff she herself, her eldest daughter and her son have all been inmates at dif ferent times, and she speaks in the highest praise for all the staff on these occasions

‘Briefly the particulars are as follows ■ Myra was admitted on the Friday, operated on for removal of tonsils on the Tuesday, and on Thursday a message was sent to the mother to come in for her The mother, on receiving this message, rang up the hospital stating that it was impossible for her to come in that day; could Myra remain until Friday. This was definitely agreed to Myra was told at about midday that she was to go out, and that hei mother was coming in for her She dressed as instructed After waiting at the ward for some considerable time, during which she was asked by two different sisters if her mother had arrived, she then went down to the bus stop, where she had remain ed until exactly 4 p.m Records will prove that this was one of the cold est, wettest days of the year. “Her mother, feeling somewhat uneasy during the afternoon, rang up the hospital at 3 p.m., and asked was Myra still there and all right and she was assured that Myra was still there and quite safe (This statement was admitted by the sister afterwards to be incorrect, when interviewed by the mother.). Myra was seen waiting around the 'bus stop for at least two hours by several different people,, she had no money and feeling quite ill began to cry The lady at the shop then entered into the affair as did one of the bus drivers who had seen her on several of his trips up, she was given 3/ by the shopkeeper, and placed in charge of the driver. He put her on a Nash Service car and this man. seeing her so ill; drove her on home after dropping his passengers at Hastings. “When the mother reached home, she was wrapped in a blanket in front of the fire trying to get. warm. The child was then becoming delirious and tiemmorhage had set in. A doctor was then called in and it was some fourteen days before she was able to get about again. “Tho mother had a. brother mmate in the hospital at this time and she visited the hospital, I think she said the first Sunday after Myra came out She called on the shopkeeper and paid back the 3/- and the shopkeeper told her all then of what she knew The mother saw the doctor at the hospital who gave tho chloroform (a t tall man); he asked about Myra and she told him what happened ; be said send het back, ami taking the mother througii to the sister concerned, was present when the sister admitted that when the mother rang up at 3 p.m the sister was under the impression that Myra was still in the ward. “1 am not writing this lettei with a view to causing further trouble with the staff, nor did 1 intend at the board meeting to put it forward as a complaint, but simply to impress the need of stricter discharge supervision I will now ask you to treat it as quite confidential, until any actions taken by tho staff force my hand.”

SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT Dr. J. Allan Berry, medical superintendent, in his report stated: “The girl, aged 12, was admitted on October 21 for the removal of tonsils and adenoids, and the operation was performed on the following day On October 24 Dr. Francis recommended her for discharge. This was confirmed by the superintendent and noted by the sister. At 1.45 p.m. on the same day the senior nurse telephoned Hastings and asked that someone should call for the patient, who, besides the senior afternoon nurse, was instructed that she was not to be discharged until her mother came for her Both the sister and the senior nurse made this clear to the girl. “A probationer mat the girl in the corridor at 3 o'clock and asked her where she was going. The girl said she was going to meet her mother and sister outside the hosnital. Her departure from the ward was unauthorised and unnoticed by the senior nurse until she received a message stating that the mother would not be able to come, foi her that day. On it being discovered that the girl was missing a message was sent to Hastings, whence came a reply that they would meet the bus and take the girl home. “In the meantime the girl had waited at the bus terminus until a well-intentioned lady advanced her the monev for her fare and she caught the 4 o'clock bus. It would have been wiser to have informed the hospital. The total waiting time was less than an hour, not ‘hours,’ as had been stated.”

Dr. Berry concluded; “The main facts are these;—(l) A message was put through to the parents that the child was ready for discharge. The message having been received the onus, in my opinion, was on the parents to arrange to take her The hospital did not fail, as every precaution was taken. (2) The girl left the hospital without authority and as soon as she was missed a further telephone message was sent through to Hastings stating what had happened. It may bo suggested that her departure should have been noted before, but in a busy ward - tbere had been seven operation cases that day- it is difficult to keep track of a girl who is running about. I maintain that the hospital did everything possible.”