Perth woman suffered as result of lax record-keeping and communication, inquest told
By Joanna MenaghAn elderly Perth woman suffered before her death because relevant information about her health was not accurately recorded, communicated and assessed by those who were caring for her, an inquest has been told.
Maria Niceforo, 75, died in February 2014 after she was admitted to Armadale hospital with a bleeding pressure wound across her bottom that penetrated to the bone, and was contaminated with urine and dried faeces.
Mrs Niceforo's dentures were also found to be black, discoloured and covered in mould, indicating they had not been removed or cleaned for weeks or possibly months.
Mrs Niceforo, who lived with her son, had a number of other underlying health issues including diabetes and hypertension.
The inquest heard Mrs Niceforo spoke only broken English and at times made it known that she did not want some of the treatments that were being recommended.
In the nine months before her death she was receiving in-home care from the company KinCare, and the inquest has been examining the adequacy of the services it provided to Mrs Niceforo.
Some of the nurses who treated Mrs Niceforo testified that communication within the company about its clients, was "disjointed" and "difficult".
Health information 'fragmented'
Notes also indicated one nurse, who saw Mrs Niceforo the day before she was admitted to hospital, treated only wounds on her legs, and failed to inspect or treat the wound on her bottom because she was not aware of it.
Today counsel assisting the coroner Kate Ellson submitted that the company's documentation about Mrs Niceforo was "fragmented" between an app, email and paperwork, and as a result important information about Mrs Niceforo's health and the state of her wounds was lost.
Ms Ellson said it appeared that from time to time, nurses and carers did not adequately record observations about Mrs Niceforo or communicate directly between themselves about the state she was in or about changes in her wounds.
Ms Ellson urged coroner Barry King to recommend that KinCare implement improvements to its communication and record keeping systems, including a document for the families of patients, setting out what staff can and can not do.
The coroner is expected to hand down his findings later this year.