Hospital death and issues of health and safety
At the regional hospital in Limerick, a woman of 23 years old died. She was in the critical care unit where she was suspected of having viral meningitis. Five days after she was initially discharged, she was back in the emergency room. At the outset, she was diagnosed with gastritis by a junior doctor. She was given medical attention for the gastritis and her condition improved so she was discharged. Unfortunately, she died due to what seemed to be viral meningitis.
Incidents of this nature are very serious because it was a misdiagnosis and it led to death. At this point the HSE health and safety audits have not led to any conclusive health and safety evidence of a breach in conduct; however, hospitals such as the one in Limerick may see more audits in the future to make certain an incident such as this does not happen again. Furthermore, a need for risk assessments in hospitals so that issues of misdiagnosis do not happen may be imperative. Consultants can be hired to help shore up any issues of safety and health training to prevent problems from occurring in a hospital or any other business.
All employers have a duty of care to their employees and their clients. In the case of a hospital, the patients must receive a proper level of care. Although the incident that happened in February may not be a safety and health breach, it does bring to the forefront that hospitals need to have the highest level of care for all patients.
