Man fighting for life after medication bungle at Perth hospital
A man is fighting for his life in the intensive care unit at Fiona Stanley Hospital after he was given a massive overdose of a powerful blood pressure medication.
Family and friends of 66-year-old Darshan Arora claim doctors and nurses at the hospital admitted they had administered six times the required dosage of the medicine.
Fiona Stanley Hospital.Credit:Getty Images
Family friend Philip Couper told Liam Bartlett on 6PR’s Mornings that as a result of the mistake Darshan, who only speaks Hindi and Punjab, has stage five renal failure and would require ongoing kidney dialysis.
“He usually gets 5 milligrams and they gave him 30 milligrams,” he said.
“It’s a slow release drug and by about lunchtime yesterday Darshan wasn’t feeling well.
“He basically explained that to his daughter who was there at the time, Shelley spoke to the nurses and then all of a sudden a nurse and doctor come in and that’s when Darshan lost consciousness and the hospital went into panic mode and pressed the emergency button.”
Couper said he was told by hospital staff that the drug was charted by a doctor and administered by a nurse.
“The doctors were very apologetic to the family yesterday, the nurses were all very apologetic,” he said.
“But the problem is that something’s been missed here.
“You don’t go into hospital and then all of a sudden you then end up in ICU. What’s happened here?”
A South Metropolitan Health Service spokeswoman said Fiona Stanley Hospital was unable to provide a detailed response due to patient confidentiality.
“We acknowledge this must be a difficult time for the family and we will continue to directly engage with them on the patient’s care,” she said.
“Our focus is on providing the highest levels of clinical care and we take all complaints seriously.
“Investigating complaints and the care we give is an important mechanism for the hospital as it is an opportunity to determine what occurred and how; and to identify how things might be, or should be, done in the future.”
The spokeswoman said any outcomes of the review would be shared with the family as part of its open disclosure process.
Health Minister Amber Jade Sanderson said there would be an investigation into the “unfortunate incident”.
“We take these incidences very seriously and there’ll be a full and thorough investigation.”
Sanderson said it was too early to say whether there were cultural issues that impacted on Darshan’s care.
“I couldn’t tell you whether it was a factor in this instance, but that will certainly be fleshed out for the investigation and that’s why it’s important we let it run its course,” she said.
Couper said it was evident hospital staff were under pressure from the time Darshan presented to the emergency department with his son and daughter.
He said Darshan sat in emergency for more than four hours, his condition deteriorating while his son kept repeatedly attended the nurses’ desk requesting help.
“It wasn’t until he got so bad that they finally admitted him,” he said.
“The nurses said they’re very tired. They’re also stressed in regards to the number of patients per nurse.”
Couper has written to the health minister but he doesn’t want an investigation.
“We know what has happened,” he said.
“The doctors have admitted it. The nurses have admitted it. Now what is most important is Darshan’s care.
“But at the end of the day we need to get on and fix this so it doesn’t happen to anyone else ever again.”
The latest horror story to come from Perth’s embattled public health system comes a day before the coroner’s inquest into the death of seven-year-old Aishwarya Aswath Chavittupara at Perth Children’s Hospital on April 3, 2021.
The Morley girl died after she was left waiting for treatment in the emergency department. Her parents’ desperate attempts to get her the help she required as she deteriorated were largely ignored.
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