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| UPDATED
EVERY FRIDAY
Last Update:
Friday 20th
May, 2005 |
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| All
content © New Journal Enterprises, 2005. |
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| Patient died after drug overdoses |
A DISABLED man admitted
to the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead with chest pains died
shortly after being given a drug overdose by mistake on three
occasions, an inquest heard on Thursday.
David Caplan, 83, who lived in Hampstead Garden Suburb, died
in Berry Ward on July 29 last year.
His wife Rena, 75, told the St Pancras inquest her husband,
a quadriplegic with a string of health problems, was considered
fit for release on July 22, but an unexpected rash meant he
had to stay in for a few more nights.
The next day, staff nurse Gill Theophine, who could not attend
the inquest through illness, administered a drug overdose
on three separate occasions before realising her mistake and
alerting a supervisor.
Hospital nursing director Carole Holroyd said she thought
Ms Theophine had read the dosage instructions as 500ml instead
of 50ml.
Dr Freddie Patel’s post-mortem reported that low-bile
pneumonia was the main cause of death and that Mr Caplan’s
quadriplegia, coronary artery disease and old age were contributing
factors.
A toxicology report said the overdose could not have caused
the sudden death, but did leave the deceased with kidney failure.
Coroner Dr Andrew Reid said: “The overdose was accidental
– a human error. There is no issue of criminal liability.
Nurse Theophine should be commended for her honesty and integrity
and for her professional conduct. It would have been very
easy for her not to admit her mistakes.”
Mr Caplan’s daughter, Jillian Glantz, said: “We
accept that sometimes human errors happen. But this is a string
of errors not just one.
“Surely they cannot have us believe that an elderly
man would not be affected by such a high overdose of this
powerful drug? I hope they change the way they deal with these
matters in the future.”
Verdict: natural causes.
A quadriplegic with a string of health problems, he was
admitted with chest pains but was soon diagnosed as having
low-bile pneumonia.
At the St Pancras? inquest, his family questioned whether
a series of staff errors had accelerated Mr Caplan’s
death.
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