An update now from a story myFM has been following since late October where a patient left Strathroy hospital on October 20th, resulting in a hospital Code Yellow being issued which is the missing patient protocol. The female patient was eventually found 16 hours later a few blocks away from the hospital in stable condition.
At that time SMGH began a review of the actions that may or may not have taken place to allow for this to occur. myFM did receive a report of that review from President and CEO of the Hospital Alliance Julie McBrien stating three actions the hospital is taking moving forward.
One being to support their 3rd party security guards with additional training on the facility’s video surveillance system. Update the hospital’s Wandering Patient Policy and educating staff on that policy at both Strathroy and Four Counties in Newbury. And the develop a family education pamphlet which would be provided for patients requiring a Wander Guard (or security bracelet).
Here is the full statement sent to myFM from MHA President and CEO Julie McBrien.
On October 20th, a patient left SMGH. Out of deep concern for the patient’s safety and as per our procedures, our team enacted our Code Yellow (missing patient) protocol, which included contacting hospital leadership on-call, the police, and the patient’s family.
The patient was subsequently found approximately 16 hours later a few blocks away from the hospital, in stable condition.
We are incredibly proud of how our MHA staff responded to this situation, and grateful to the Strathroy Caradoc Police Service and members of the community for their assistance.
Patient safety and continuous improvement is of utmost importance to us at Middlesex Hospital Alliance (MHA), so in the rare case that a situation like this occurs, our process is to conduct an extensive review to determine if any changes to our polices/practices are required in order to prevent a similar situation from happening again.
Our review of this specific incident is complete. For accountability, we have connected back with the patient’s family, with whom we have been in close contact since the incident occurred, with the results of our review.
For transparency, we wish to also provide an update to our community. Here are the key actions we are taking as a result of our review:
· Supported our 3rd party security guards with additional training on our video surveillance system
· Update our Wandering Patient Policy and provide education to staff, at both hospital sites
· Development of a family education pamphlet to be provided for patients requiring Wander Guard (security bracelet).