Medical Negligence Patient Safety Item 1.12
MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE PATIENT SAFETY ITEM 1.12
PATIENT SAFETY ACT 2023
John Whelan Solicitor with specialist expertise in Medical Negligence and Patient Safety gives an example of a Notifiable Incident as envisaged by Item 1.12 of the Act.
There are 13 notifiable incidents set out in the Act but other notifiable incidents may be introduced by Ministerial regulation under Section 8 of the Act.
Item 1.12
An unintended death where the cause believed to be the suicide of a Patient while being cared for in or at a place or premises in which a Health Service provider provides a Health Service, whether or not the death was anticipated or arose from or was wholly or partially attributable to the illness or underlying condition of the patient.
An example of an unintended death believed to be the suicide of a Patient while receiving care.
In this case a Patient who was being treated for depression and anxiety, tragically died by suicide while under psychiatric care.
The Patient had been admitted to the hospital’s psychiatric unit for intensive treatment after a suicide attempt a few days prior. Despite the Patient’s prior history of mental health issues and a known suicide risk, the hospital staff failed to recognise the severity of the Patient’s suicidal ideation during the Patient’s stay and was not placed under adequate observation. On the evening of the Patient’s death, the Patient was left alone in the Patient’s room, where the Patient was able to access a means of suicide. The Patient died from self-inflicted injuries, and the death was ruled as suicide.
The tragic outcome was unanticipated in the sense that the Patient’s death occurred despite the hospital’s responsibility to provide appropriate monitoring and care. While the Patient’s depression and anxiety were part of the Patient’s medical condition, the Patient’s suicide was not wholly attributable to the Patient’s illness in terms of management, it was also the result of preventable gaps in the care the Patient was receiving. The failure to provide proper oversight, despite the Patients known risk, was a major factor in the Patient’s death.
The case shows how suicides in healthcare settings, particularly among vulnerable Patients, can sometimes occur due to mistakes in cases such as lapses in monitoring, even when the Patient’s mental health condition is known. While the Patient’s mental illness was a contributing factor, the failure to adequately address the suicidal risk was a significant factor in the unintended death of the Patient.
For more detailed insights into how the Patient Safety Act 2023 impacts you and how Whelan Law can support you, please visit our Patient Safety Rights Legal Advice https://www.whelanlaw.ie/news/medical-negligence-and-patient-safety/