Courts / Ireland / Report
HSE apologises over treatment of dementia patient who GP feared could have starved to death
Summary
In a High Court hearing on 19 January 2016, the HSE apologised to the family of an elderly woman with dementia for failing to communicate a care plan devised by a multidisciplinary team. The plan, which involved comfort feeding, had not been shared with her GP or the nursing home, and the woman had been discharged from hospital to the nursing home with only a discharge summary. The judge described the breakdown as substandard and regrettable, noting that the woman had recently lost the ability to swallow after a stroke and had been hospitalised with aspirational pneumonia. The HSE accepted that it had not informed the Office of Wards of Court about her health. The judge adjourned the matter to Friday, hoping the parties would agree on the woman's ongoing treatment and that any remaining difficulties would be resolved.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: HSE apologises over treatment of dementia patient who GP feared could have starved to death. Procedural stage: hearing_or_decision
When:
- 2016-01-19 Publication
Places mentioned
- High Court
Topics
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