Should mental health facilities be held responsible for any deaths occurring at the facility?
By Starmaiden
@Starmaiden (9311)
Canada
July 15, 2018 2:59pm CST
My daughter called me today. She is grieving the loss of a friend. My daughter lives in a group home about 600 kms from me and the girl who passed on lived in a mental rehab facility in the same city as my daughter. They knew each other from their place of employment.
My daughter told me that her friend had choked to death on a muffin. Apparently, none of the staff who worked in this facility knew CPR or how to do the Heimlich Maneuver. The called 911 but the girl was already unconscious and not breathing when the ambulance got there.
In my opinion this shouldn't have happened. The staff and the facility should be held responsible for allowing this death to occur. I say "allowing" because none of them were trained in CPR. If they were, this girl would be alive today.
What is your opinion on this?
9 people like this
8 responses
@Starmaiden (9311)
• Canada
15 Jul 18
Low paying facilities hire non professionals to do the work of professionals. That is the extent of many health facilities in my province. 
3 people like this
@Ladanger (14582)
• United States
15 Jul 18
@Starmaiden wow okay and they should have a law that nurses show know cpr everywhere because your taken someone's life into your hands. What a sad case . Sorry for your daughters loss.
1 person likes this
@MainerMikeBrown (1373)
• Bridgton, Maine
15 Jul 18
I'm surprised that nobody that worked at this group home knew CPR or the Heimlich Manuever because knowing how to these two life saving techniques isn't rocket science.
3 people like this
@Starmaiden (9311)
• Canada
15 Jul 18
No it isn't. Even I know CPR and I don't work in health care. 
2 people like this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
15 Jul 18
I think that CPR should be mandatory if you have that kind of job. In the past the same thing could have happened in my country. Nursing students didn't have to learn CPR in the past, they were able to take a CPR course if they wanted to, but they didn't have to. Fortunately the rules are stricter today.
2 people like this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
15 Jul 18
@Starmaiden I agree. Everyone should learn it if they have that kind of job.
1 person likes this
@Starmaiden (9311)
• Canada
15 Jul 18
CPR should be taught and updated regularly in all health professions, including LPN and PCW.
2 people like this
@AgoriphobicPirate (303)
•
15 Jul 18
Wow. This is growing problem in Canada (I’ve had issues myself with these types of “professionals”). It seems we’re unable to hold our healthcare professionals responsible for anything. This disgusts me because by no means should anyone be working there as more than custodial staff unless they know CPR. It’s basic first aid, and it sounds like a law suit to me. If I were a family member of this girl I would want it in writing that this is what happened, because on paper that is something you can and should use to fight the problems that exist. How can we be expected to trust in a system that can’t meet the most basic requirements of its own purpose?
2 people like this
@AgoriphobicPirate (303)
•
15 Jul 18
@Starmaiden It’s a shame that looking into shutting down the facility is all that can be done. The people who hit d the staff should be held personally responsible. You can’t necessarily blame someone who didn’t know what was required of them, but someone did. It was someone’s job to makes sure that everyone was up to date and had reviewed this stuff every so often. I’m fairly certain they’re actually legally obliged to redo the CPR and first aid courses from time to time, through a different organization, and have documentation to prove that they did so.
2 people like this
@Starmaiden (9311)
• Canada
15 Jul 18
@AgoriphobicPirate I agree. First Aid/CPR should be updated every two years. Maybe these staff members were left to take responsibility for their own training and updates.
2 people like this
@Starmaiden (9311)
• Canada
16 Jul 18
Absolutely correct. I do hope her family receives justice from this injustice.
2 people like this
@thislittlepennyearns (58103)
• Defuniak Springs, Florida
15 Jul 18
I have a hard time believing that no one knew cpr at the facility. They have to know it to work in that setting.
1 person likes this
