Karin Grech Staff Charged With Inadvertent Death Of 64-Year-Old Patient With Dementia
A nurse and a nursing aide have been found guilty of inadvertently causing the death of a 64-year-old patient at Karin Grech Hospital who ended up choking on his food as the nurses were tending to other patients.
Nurse David Sant and Carol Bonnici have been ordered to pay €7,000 and €4,000 respectively after John Darmanin was found dead in a bathroom stall, reportedly after choking on a piece of chicken.
Darmanin had recently suffered a stroke, and was only able to eat mushy food under supervision. He also suffered from dementia, and would often try to leave his room or the ward as well as try to undress.
On the 7th of March, 2012, Sant and Bonnici were tending to six patients, including Darmanin, in two separate rooms in Karin Grech hospital
At one point, Sant was having his break while Bonnici was in the other room feeding another patient who reportedly needed more attention than Darmanin.
In court, Bonnici said that she was tending to a patient who required an oxygen supply and that Darmanin’s food hadn’t arrived yet. After around 20 minutes, she went to Darmanin’s room, but found his bed empty and a plate with a piece of chicken besides it. The chicken had been bitten into it, she said.
Soon after, Darmanin was found unconscious inside a bathroom. CPR was immediately given by a doctor but Darmanin was certified dead. The doctor also said in court that some food was recovered from Darmanin’s mouth.
Sant said he was supervising a student nurse at the time prior to taking his break, and confirmed that he saw the plate of food some distance away from Darmanin, and so assumed he had already eaten.
When Sant returned from break, Darmanin had already been confirmed dead
Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech said that the nurse and nursing aide had failed in their respective duties, neglecting to look after Darmanin during lunch hours.
She noted that the workers had not caused the death malevolently, but through negligence due to them being busy with other duties.
Hence, the court decided not to give them prison sentences, and instead fine them.
The prosecution was led by Superintendent Geoffrey Azzopardi. Lawyers Stephen Tonna Lowell, Dr Michael Sciriha and Kris Scicluna led the defense team. Dr Stefano Filletti appeared parte civile.
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