Seniors advocates have called for tougher laws to help families with relatives who have suffered abuse following the death of Gladys Smith who was left alone in a scolding hospital bathtub.

This week an inquest gave a verdict of death by misadventure in the 81-year-old?s death at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital while the family is considering whether to sue.

She suffered a heart attack and two first degree burns to her feet and died shortly after she was found on March 26, 2002 at KEMH.

Age Concern executive director Claudette Fleming said: ?In terms of redress what options does the family have? Outside of what?s happened, there?s not much.

?I don?t think we are doing enough in terms of legislation in protecting vulnerable people. I think there is definitely room for improvement ? and with haste.?

She said Bermuda?s increasing older population would mean more potential for seniors being put in dangerous situations.

Ms Fleming also called for tougher professional and ethical standards.

?We want to ensure organisations have clear policies and procedures and (that) they are adhered to.

?And secondly ethical standards, even in minor situations such as walking away from a patient in a bathtub, should be reinforced.?

She said even professionals lapse in their judgments and needed to be reminded what to do.

Coroner Ed King?s verdict also drew fire from American seniors advocate Glenn Wachter who was the keynote speaker at the recent United Bermuda Party sponsored seniors conference.

Mr. Wachter, who is married to a Bermudian, has been reading about the case in and he believes Mr. King missed something.

?By definition, ?misadventure? means ?an accident that causes serious injury or death to a person and that does not involve negligence, wrongful purpose or unlawful conduct?.?

But he said hospital orderly Laurie Furbert had testified he had set up Mrs. Smith in bath chair after 9 a.m. on the morning of her death, left her to be bathed by a nurse, returned to find her defecating and then left to go on a break after running a hot tap to wash away faeces.

Mr. Wachter said: ?Orderly Furbert claims to have left Mrs. Smith unattended and suspended in a bath chair again, to attend to other duties, but not before informing nurse Francis about her patient?s status.

?Even though nurse Francis told orderly Furbert she was going on break, he carried on and went to visit the caf? to make sure he didn?t miss breakfast.

?Somewhere around 11.30 a.m., a relative of Mrs. Smith came calling, there was some confusion about her whereabouts, and she was discovered near death, struggling for breath, still unattended, still suspended above the bath. The skin of her feet was apparently boiled off.

?An undisclosed amount of time later, a physician examined Mrs. Smith, but could not find breath sounds or a heart beat.

?While no one believes orderly Mr. Furbert, nor nurse Ms Francis intended the patient harm, their neglect to provide responsible care for Mrs. Smith resulted in the most serious of harms ? death.

?I?m certain orderly Furbert and nurse Francis had a number of other pressing duties that morning, but it must not be considered acceptable to leave a patient unattended in a hoist.

?In fact, according to hospital attorney Allan Doughty, leaving patients unattended is against the hospital?s policy.?

He said such policies are typically instituted to prevent unnecessary falls of confused, disoriented, and frail patients.

?Luckily, Mrs. Smith did not fall, but hot water boiled her feet and may have initiated a heart event that did end up taking her life.

?Given the information released to the public, it appears Mrs. Smith was repeatedly left alone over the course of two and half hours, and it resulted in the ultimate harm.

?Leaving Mrs. Smith unattended in an unsafe position can only be seen as an act of omission (neglect) that set the stage for her death.

?If only orderly Furbert or nurse Francis had attended her the entire time during her bath, the horrific consequences could have been avoided,? said Mr. Wachter who is Deputy State Ombudsman in Oregon.

He said the case raised serious questions about care management on the Curtis Ward.

?Why did orderly Furbert set the patient up in the bath, but not bathe her, and leave it for nurse Francis?

?If nurse Francis did perform the bath, why did she not then dry off the patient, leaving that for orderly Furbert?

?How long did orderly Furbert think it would take to finish a bowel movement that was already in the drain?

?How could Mrs. Smith?s reportedly loose stools clog the bath drain, raising the water level to boil her feet?

?Why then was nurse Francis expected to transport the patient? These inconsistencies seem to underscore neglectful care, and belie the verdict by the Coroner. Abandoning the vulnerable Mrs. Smith shows neglect of the duty to keep the patient safe.?

On Monday sent the hospital a number of questions about the case including whether procedures had been changed but received a brief response declining to discuss the case.

Mr. Wachter said: ?Is it possible Bermuda?s laws are not clear enough on what constitutes neglectful care and/or patient abuse??

He said in the US physical abuse is defined as any physical injury to a resident that has been caused by other than accidental means including injuries a reasonable and prudent person would have been able to prevent.

Mr. Wacther added: ?Given the Coroner?s questionable verdict and only knowing the facts as printed in , a final question must be asked: Shouldn?t Bermudians demand their Government pass and enforce laws that actually protect seniors and patients in health care facilities??