And a coverup fails. How many more deaths from negligence is this hospital concealing?
A father of three died after he contracted an infection from a hospital shower on the day that he was due to be discharged after successful treatment for leukaemia. The hospital had failed for many years to act on guidance about the safety of its ageing hot water system, a court was told. The failure led to Daryl Eyles, 37, contracting legionnaires’ disease from a dirty shower head. He had just been told that he was in complete remission after enduring months of chemotherapy. At Bath Magistrates’ Court, the Royal United Hospital (RUH) in Bath admitted two charges of failing to act on safety warnings.
Jennifer Gunning, chairwoman of the bench, said: “Guidance was available for more than ten years, but this was blatantly not followed. The RUH management was inadequate. Mr Eyles died as a result of those failings and many other vulnerable patients were put at risk.” Referring the case to Bristol Crown Court for sentencing, she said: “We believe this to be so serious that our sentencing powers are not sufficient.”
Mr Eyles, a security guard at Bath University, had leukaemia diagnosed in August 2003 after developing a painful abscess while on holiday in Cyprus. The cancer went into remission after his first course of chemotherapy, but he was told that he needed two more sessions to make sure that it did not come back. He spent Christmas at home with his family before returning to the hospital for his final session in January 2004.
His wife, Andrea, 31, had previously told how her husband was desparate to get home and had tried to discharge himself early but was advised to wait a few days. She said: “I saw him after he finished his chemotherapy and he just wanted to come home. He felt fine and was looking forward to getting back to work. “He said he had more chance of catching something in hospital than he did at home, but the doctors advised him to stay in hospital.”
On February 7 Mr Eyles took a shower at the William Budd Oncology Unit, where he was being treated. He became ill and was prescribed antibiotics, but they failed to prevent his death a week later. Doctors initially told Mrs Eyles that her husband had died of pneumonia and septicaemia. She discovered the true cause only after taking legal action. An investigation found that the shower head was contaminated with Legionella bacteria. She said: “I just wanted to know the truth about what happened and I’m furious that it took legal action to get it.” The couple, from Bath, had two children: Georgina, 10, and Mitchell, 8. Daryl also had a son, Christopher, 14, from a previous relationship.
After the hearing Mark Davies, the chief executive of the Royal United Hospital Bath NHS Trust, said: “The RUH took this incident extremely seriously and we have learnt from this very sad case. “We were all shocked by the sudden death of Daryl Eyles in February 2004. The trust accepted liability in October 2004 and has since reached a settlement in response to the family’s claim. At the time the trust fully cooperated with the Health and Safety Executive and has complied with all its recommendations to minimise further risk of Legionella.” The hospital trust will be sentenced on March 29.
Source
Mixed-sex wards fury in Australia too
It's a big issue in British government hospitals
QUEENSLAND Health has been accused of robbing patients of their dignity by forcing men and women to share hospital wards. Doctors say the practice has become widespread across the state because of the chronic bed shortage in public hospitals. The state has fewer beds than it did 10 years ago - even though its population has grown by one million.
One nurse who protested over the opening of a mixed-sex unit at her regional hospital said: "The patients don't like it, but many of them are elderly and don't like to complain. "Vulnerable patients rely on us for care but the system has no respect for them. "It astounds me that anyone could ever think this was acceptable."
A 45-year-old female patient said she was appalled to be placed with two men in a four-bed bay when she was admitted to the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital. "A friend of mine had discharged herself when she was put in a mixed ward," she said. "I thought it couldn't be that bad - until I was put in one myself. One of the men had dementia and kept getting out of bed and undressing in front of me. "It was embarrassing for me and demeaning for him. "I'm no prude, but mixed-sex wards cannot be justified."
Dr Ross Cartmill, a urologist at Brisbane's Princess Alexandra Hospital and a spokesman for the Australian Medical Association, said: "The problem occurs at every hospital with a bed shortage - which is most hospitals. "Patients growl about it, but most think it's just better to have a bed than none at all."
Opposition health spokesman John-Paul Langbroek warned that mixed-sex wards could open patients to allegations of voyeurism and inappropriate behaviour. Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said it was more efficient to place patients in mixed wards if they required specialist treatment, such as cardiac and neurological care. "All hospitals understand the need to be sensitive to their patients whilst being flexible, so that they can provide a bed for every individual who needs one," Dr Young said.
Source
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For greatest efficiency, lowest cost and maximum choice, ALL hospitals and health insurance schemes should be privately owned and run -- with government-paid vouchers for the very poor and minimal regulation. Both Australia and Sweden have large private sector health systems with government reimbursement for privately-provided services so can a purely private system with some level of government reimbursement or insurance for the poor be so hard to do?
For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, GUN WATCH, EDUCATION WATCH, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, DISSECTING LEFTISM, IMMIGRATION WATCH and EYE ON BRITAIN. My Home Pages are here or here or here. Email me (John Ray) here. For times when blogger.com is playing up, there are mirrors of this site here and here.
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