The Raleigh News & Observer reports that a man being treated in a state-run drug treatment center in Butner, NC, after staff members gave him a lethal dose of methadone.
The story took a frightening turn when we learned that there was no reason for the man to have been prescribed methadone in the first place. Methadone is used to treat heroin addiction…but the patient was not addicted to heroin.
Apparently, he survived a low dose of methadone, but a physician increased his dosage. As the victim lay unconscious in his bed, a nurse assumed he was sleeping and ignored this blatant symptom of overdose. The man was found bleeding and unconscious in a bathroom after midnight by another patient.
It raises so many questions: Where was the hospital staff while this man was suffering? Is it common to have patients missing from their beds at midnight, and not be searched for? Are there no checks and balances for physicians and nurses who seem to be running on auto-pilot? Do any of the staff of state-run hospitals care enough to give proper treatment to their patients?
HensonFuerst is outraged by this type of treatment. We devote our lives to helping people who have been injured in this way… but we would be thrilled if these types injuries and deaths never happened in the first place.
While the newspaper article said that it was unclear whether there would be any disciplinary action against the staff, it would be a travesty if no action were taken. Whatever happened to the oath of “do no harm”?
If you or one of your loved ones have been injured while in any medical care facility, call us. HensonFuerst is on your side.