Nurse says she would have intervened if she saw patient trying to hang himself
By Mikaela Ian Pearman
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Inquest: Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute where Shandal Richardson died.
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A nursing supervisor on duty the night Shandal Richardson died would have gone into the room by herself had she seen him trying to hang himself, an inquest heard.
Nurse Marlene Taylor was cross examined by Mr. Richardson's family's lawyer, Victoria Pearman, and said proper protocol was that nurses entered the patient's room in pairs for safety reason.
During questioning, Ms Pearman asked: "If someone injures themselves, are there any procedures."
Ms Taylor said the nurse would intervene.
Ms Pearman continued and said: "Are there any training or written procedures that would tell you how to deal with someone who's in the act of committing suicide?"
Ms Taylor said: "We are instructed in non violent crisis intervention. It's putting hands on to stop the person from harming themselves, restraining them or whatever. We're trained to do that."
But Ms Pearman continued to quiz her on the subject and said: "If you had actually looked in and saw that he was trying to hang himself, would you have gone in or stayed to the policy that we're supposed to go with another member of staff?"
Ms Taylor said: "If I saw somebody harm themselves, I would intervene. In this instance, I didn't know what was going on. I had to think about my safety. I wasn't sure what was going on. All I know is that I am not going into a room when I don't know what's going on in there."
Ms Taylor previously told the inquest she heard a banging from one of the patients' rooms. She looked into two rooms before heading to Mr. Richardson's room.
She told Coroner Juan Wolffe she was unable to see fully into his room because something was obstructing the doorway. All she could see was his roommate waving for her to come in, an upturned bed and the top of Mr. Richardson's head. She said she did not notice a sheet attached to the bed post and Mr. Richardson's neck at that point.
Instead of going into the room Ms Taylor went back to the nurse's desk to call assistance from another nurse who was on break at the time. She told the inquest MWI's policy was for two nurses to enter a room for safety reasons.
The father-of-three was admitted to MWI on March 4 last year after trying to stab himself with a knife at his Southampton home.
He was deemed to be a suicide risk by an Emergency Room doctor at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital before being admitted to MWI where he was placed in the acute care Somers' Annexe.
Initially Mr. Richardson was placed in a room at MWI used for "observation and seclusion", which only had a bare mattress and a urinal bucket. However, he was moved to a different room before his death, meanwhile another patient who attacked nurses was put in the seclusion room.
The inquest continues on Tuesday.
