Bodice restraint might have saved woman

The death of a retirement village resident could have been avoided if staff had used a loose bodice, instead of a lap belt to restrain her, Coroner Carla na Nagara says.

Gertrude Slape, 96, died at Wairau Hospital on December 11 after being found on the floor in the lounge at her resthome in Blenheim the previous night.

Mrs Slape was sitting in a reclining chair, restrained by a lap belt before she slipped out, stood up, fell over and hit her head, all while unsupervised, the report says.

On December 10, the duty nurse was away from Mrs Slape for about 20 minutes attending to another resident in the dementia unit.

Mrs Slape was frail and prone to falling and when the nurse returned, Mrs Slape was face down on the ground with blood running from her forehead.

In her decision, Ms na Nagara ruled Mrs Slape died of the head injury suffered after falling out of the lap belt she was in while the nurse was attending to an emergency situation elsewhere.

During the inquest, Ms na Nagara questioned why a lap belt was used over a loose bodice.

"The bodice would have been more secure and would require more effort to get out of," she said.

"The fall may have been avoided if Mrs Slape was in a bodice, because even if the lap belt was fastened as tightly as possible, she would have been able to slip out of it because of her small size."

The resthome manager could not say why a lap belt was used or how often Mrs Slape was restrained.

Ms na Nagara said the decision seemed to boil down to which restraint method was available on any given day.

In her recommendations, which will be forwarded to the Ministry of Health, Ms na Nagara said the rest home should have a clear and demonstrable decision-making process on restraints.

She has suppressed details which would identify the resthome or the three staff involved.

"While the issue is finely balanced, I have reached the view that it is appropriate to make the directions sought in the interests of protecting the witnesses' personal privacy.

"The circumstances of Mrs Slape's death do not give rise to a valid public interest in the identity of the staff from whom I heard evidence, and the distress caused to them through publication outweighs any such interest."

- The Marlborough Express

SAM MORTON AND SIMON WONG

Last updated 11:00 21/11/2011