The National Chest Hospital is being accused of negligence after a patient met her demise after falling through a laundry chute at the facility. The victim, 43-year-old Carsha Johnson Sinclair who suffered from lung disease was admitted to the health facility on Friday and was found dead on Wednesday morning.
Her daughter shared information on how it happened.
“She moved off her bed, go to a corner, move a dust bin just to step up and they were unaware,” said Davia Sinclair. “Where was this nurse who went to catch the water? Where were the nurses who were supposed to monitor her.”
The family is blaming the hospital for the incident saying that if Carsha Johnson Sinclair was being monitored the incident would not have happened.
“They have her records, they know everything about her. They know the type of tablets that she was on. So they know exactly everything about her. They know that the medication she was on it would make her think suicidal,” explained Carsha Johnson Sinclair’s husband, Dave Sinclair. “The room that they put her in was an isolated room, has ventilation where they throw clothes through to get it downstairs.
Mr. Sinclair says the nurses should have seen the signs that something was not right.
“You give her a medication to put her to sleep. The medication wakes her up after four. She started to behave strangely and say she wants more of the medication to put her back to sleep and no, you are not going to give her any more of the medication. You are going to tidy her. When you come back you don’t see her so who was watching her then.”
Calls were made to the National Chest hospital on the matter but there was no answer. When checks were made with the police we were told that the patient was trying to escape from the unit and fell through the vent. Family members are however questioning why their relative was placed in a room with a laundry chute, and why the chute that was usually kept locked was opened.
Meanwhile, the South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA) says it has launched a thorough investigation into the incident at the National Chest Hospital. In a news release, SERHA says it notes the public’s concern about the death of the patient and offered condolences to the family. It says more information will be provided as investigations are ongoing and further support will be provided to the family.
