TWO nurses who cared for Maureen Goss in the final hours of her life yesterday gave an inquest conflicting accounts of her state of mind in a general ward of Wagga Base Hospital.
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Mrs Goss, 73, died on October 8, 2010, after being found lying on the floor of a ward three room about four hours earlier.
Possible scenarios are Mrs Goss suffered a stroke or had a disastrous fall that caused fatal head injuries.
An inquest being conducted by coroner Geoff Hiatt is exploring the diagnosis of Mrs Goss after she was taken to hospital following a low-speed car crash on October 6 and the treatment she received after admission.
Dr Peter Smart told the inquest yesterday Mrs Goss had died from a subdural haematoma.
A post-mortem examination also found bruising on the left side of Mrs Goss’s face and neck and left leg.
Much of yesterday’s evidence centred on the nursing care given to Mrs Goss after she was transferred from the accident and emergency department to ward three shortly before 1.30pm on October 7, including an assessment of her risk of falling.
Enrolled nurse Leonie Raper and registered nurse Vicki Hewitt were assigned the care of Mrs Goss when they started work at 1.30pm on October 7.
Mrs Goss was initially placed in room 301, the closest room to the nurses’ station, before being moved to room 302.
Both experienced nurses told the inquest they were aware Mrs Goss had been assessed as being at risk of a fall.
Under cross-examination by barrister Matthew Hogg for Mrs Goss’s family, Ms Raper said she told Mrs Goss as late as 7.10pm – about an hour before the patient was found on the floor by Ms Raper and a student nurse – that if she needed anything or wanted to go to the toilet then to call for help using a buzzer.
Mrs Raper told the inquest that while taking Mrs Goss’s observations she gave “appropriate responses” to questions designed to ascertain her condition.
“I asked her if she had pain, she said no,” Ms Raper said.
“An inappropriate answer to that would be the trees are green.
“I asked her if she had blurred vision and she said no.
“I held up my fingers and she counted three (the right number).”
Mr Hogg asked Ms Raper if Mrs Goss appeared confused or agitated to her.
“No, not at any time I was on the ward did I observe her to be confused or otherwise,” Ms Raper said.
But Ms Hewitt told the inquest she was so concerned about Mrs Goss’s agitation and confusion during the afternoon she inquired about the patient being moved to
a high-dependency ward.
“I was concerned about her agitation more than anything,” Ms Hewitt said in answer to a question put by barrister Steven Woods representing the Murrumbidgee Local Health District.
