Health and safety experts have been called in at Wishaw General Hospital [in England] after 62 falls were recorded in one ward in just 10 months. The safety probe centres on Ward 3, which houses around 23 elderly psychiatric patients. Official hospital figures show 47 patients suffered falls on the ward during a five-month period in 2002.
A spokesman for Lanarkshire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, said: "Discussions have been taking place with the Health and Safety Executive but there has been no instruction to remove the flooring in Ward 3, which is the same throughout Wishaw General."
One hospital worker said: "Most of the staff think there's a problem with the flooring. The patients there are extremely frail and I have lost count of the number of serious falls that have been recorded. It will cost the taxpayer a fortune if the flooring is found to be dangerous." An investigation has now been launched to find out whether the condition of the floor is putting patients and staff at risk.
Sunday, November 02, 2003
Probe as 62 patients fall on Psych ward's 'slippy' floor
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My elderly mother (87) who suffers from dementia was admitted to Wishaw General on the 22nd of Novemeber suffering from constipation. On the 28th of November she was left in a bathroom unattended with a buzzer. My mother does not know what day it is let alone understand the concept of a buzzer. Subsequently, she fell off the toilet and fractured her hip. We were NOT contacted to advise of her fall untill my brother visited later in the evening. My mother has since undergone major surgery and it is touch and go whether she will recover from this. Since this happened we have spoken to three other patients who were left unattended resulting in falls. These have all taken place within ward 9. We feel that this is just the tip of the iceberg and believe me, we will melt it to find out what is REALLY going on within this hospital. I would be delighted to hear from anyone with a similar story regarding this hospital.
Many thanks.
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