Doctors must listen to family caregivers, inquest hears

The daughter of a woman who died last year at the Saint John Regional Hospital saysemergency room doctorsshould pay more attention to information from family caregivers.

Shirley MacAulay testified at a coroner's inquest into the death of her mother, Lillian Mullin, 78,in February 2005.

MacAulay told the coroner's jury how her mother was sent home from the ER, and then returned the next day, and waited six hours to see a doctor before she died. Mullin had been suffering from days of severe diarrhea and stomach cramps.

A hospital doctor testified Mullin had numerous health problems when she arrived at the hospital with a massive bowel infection, and would not have survived the surgery needed to correct it. An independent coroner concluded Mullin died of ischemic bowel disease.

MacAulaysaid her family has found it difficultnot to lay blame for her mother's death, andwants health professionals to be more vigorous when they diagnoseelderlypatients.

She said doctors need to listen to the concerns of family members who accompany the elderly to the hospital, because they often have important information that can help with an accurate diagnosis.

"Ask them questions. Be patient. Respect them by taking the time to try to find out all the issues that are going on with them," she said. "And before you send them home, ask yourself, 'Did I do everything I should have to ensure I made the right diagnosis?' And if you have any doubts, then don't send that patient home."

MacAulay told the coroner's jury her mother's numerous health problems had been under control.She said her mother was an independent woman, who'd raised eight children on her own.Until her death, she still cooked her own meals, bathed herself and wasn't housebound.

Hospital administrators have already admitted that Mullin should never have been sent home. The doctor who diagnosed her with flu was ordered to get further education about ischemic bowel disease.

MacAulay also told the jury that health care professionals need better communication. "A nurse is primarily the first person that sees you. She may have input. I think that a lot of times the nurses are fearful of approaching a doctor just trying to interject something they may have seen," she said.

The inquest continues Tuesday.