In this article, DFA has finally confirmed that the nurse involved caught on video was a Filipina. The incident resulted in serious brain damage to Violeta’s patient, who was already paralyzed from the neck down.
Quick points. a) For reasons that have yet to be determined, Violeta was seen turning off the ventilator of her patient, Jamie Merrett, a man who was paralyzed after a car accident. b) After failing to restart the ventilator, she inserts a resuscitation equipment in the patient’s mount instead of connecting it to a passage in the patient’s neck. c) The patient had a CCTV installed because he was worried with the “quality of care” he was receiving, as the mentioned in the video clip.
This news makes me wonder about the quality of training that our nursing student receive here. Do they get the best theoretical education and have been prepared well by the nursing schools? Or is the country simply mass-producing graduates, waiting to be exported abroad, upon accomplishing requirements and passing examinations?
It also makes me wonder about the agencies, both local and abroad, and how the hire and retain nurses. With regards to this incident, I find it odd that Violeta would turn off the machine and fail to turn it back on. Was the machine faulty or was she unfamiliar with operating the machine? And I find it disturbing that she did not attach the resuscitation equipment to right opening, which, in that case, is a hole in the patient’s neck. Perhaps, she panicked and got confused.
The machine was not faulty. I believe she was turning off the machine in some kind of attempt to check the settings. She had no clue what she was doing and should not have been touching the ventilator. Compounding this, she did not know how to resuscitate Jamie and is heard saying, ‘Breathe Jamie’, whilst pumping air into his mouth at 120 breaths per minute. It should be 12breaths but, crucially, Jamie is still attached to the ventilator, so all the air is passing into his tubing as well as to his lungs. Watching the footage is harrowing. We (Jamie’s family) are now the ones worrying about his care, nothing has changed. IATROGENESIS.
Also – she has to press and hold the power button for two seconds and then a five second audible alarm sounds. At this point, if nothing else is touched, the machine merely continues working, however, she pressed the power button again, which was a large 2″ button with the universal circle with a line thru the top into the centre. This then turned the machine off… everything goes black on the display and she turns and walks away. It was only Jamie clicking his tongue that brings her back to the machine, even then she does nothing. Then she calls to the carer. She is supposed to be the nurse on duty but she calls to the less qualified person and when she eventually comes, the CARER gives the nurse the ambubag and the NURSE asks, “What do I do with this?”
It’s then that you know all manner of sh*t is about to occur.