STAFF AT a nursing home were warned about keeping non-food items away from a dementia patient days before he swallowed a latex glove which led to his death, a court heard yesterday.
James Griffin (67) died in hospital five days after ingesting the glove in his bedroom at the Waterford Nursing Home, run by Mowlam Healthcare, on the evening of November 8th, 2008.
Waterford District Court heard yesterday how care workers tried to save Mr Griffin’s life using CPR and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation after they found him choking in the doorway of his bedroom.
The case against Mowlam Healthcare resumed yesterday after opening earlier this year. Mowlam is accused of a breach of nursing home regulations and of failing to provide sufficient care to Mr Griffin.
The case was taken by the HSE after a complaint was made by the deceased’s brother, Brendan Griffin, and a three-person team carried out an investigation.
Clinical nurse manager at the nursing home Wendy O’Keeffe told Judge David Kennedy yesterday that concerns began about James Griffin trying to swallow non-food items, such as gloves and paper, on November 3th, 2008.
“It was communicated to all staff that he needed to be monitored closely. We had to observe him from a distance because he became agitated if anyone approached him or went close to him.” Care assistant Sarah O’Brien said she was working with a colleague on the night of November 8th and, after they put another resident to bed in an adjacent room, they saw Mr Griffin standing in his doorway.
“It appeared that he was choking. He couldn’t breathe,” she told the court.
Her colleague attempted the Heimlich manoeuvre to remove any obstruction from his airway but this didn’t have any effect, and then began CPR while she herself carried out mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Under cross-examination from William Fitzgerald, for the HSE, Ms O’Brien said she would “presume” Mr Griffin got the latex gloves from the assisted bathroom.
Executive chairman of Mowlam Healthcare, which operates 15 nursing homes nationwide, Pat Shanahan described the incident as an “unfortunate and tragic accident” which couldn’t have been foreseen. “We were flabbergasted that the HSE were taking a criminal matter to court”, he said, adding that staff did everything possible to provide suitable care for James Griffin. Closing arguments are expected today.