A 49-year-old woman collapsed and died on the floor of a waiting room at a Brooklyn psychiatric hospital in New York and lay there for more than an hour as employees ignored her, according to the New York Civil Liberties Union, which on Tuesday released surveillance camera video of the incident. Esmin Green was involuntarily admitted to the psychiatric emergency department of Kings County Hospital Center on June 18 for what the hospital describes as "agitation and psychosis."
Upon her admission, Green waited nearly 24 hours for treatment, said the civil liberties union, which was among the groups filing suit against the facility last year seeking improved conditions for patients. The surveillance camera video shows the woman rolling off a waiting room chair, landing face-down on the floor and convulsing. Her collapse came at 5:32 a.m. June 19, the NYCLU said, and she stopped moving at 6:07 a.m. During that time, the organization said, workers at the hospital ignored her. At 6:35 a.m., the tape shows a hospital employee approaching and nudging Green with her foot, the group said. Help was summoned three minutes later. In addition, the organization said, hospital staff falsified Green's records to cover up the time she had lain there without assistance. The New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, which oversees the hospital, released a statement Tuesday saying it was "shocked and distressed by this situation. It is clear that some of our employees failed to act based on our compassionate standards of care."
After a preliminary investigation, the corporation said it suspended or terminated six employees, "including staff involved with the direct care of the patient as well as managers of security and clinical services," the statement said. A Health and Hospitals Corporation spokeswoman said it was aware of the discrepancies in Green's record when it began the preliminary investigation on June 20. That information is now in the hands of various investigatory agencies, she said. Green, a native of the island of Jamaica, lived alone in Brooklyn's Brownsville neighborhood. She had no close family in the United States, and her neighbor Beatrice Wallace described her as a quiet woman who had few visitors and spent most of her free time at church. The medical examiner is withholding autopsy results pending further study and investigation into the precise cause of death. [End of report]
It is a sad and at the same time disgusting news to hear. I saw the surveillance camera video of the incident and it is completely shocking how someone could let the woman to lay there and die. During the time of her fall from the chair, there was two person in the waiting room with her but they didnt do anything to help her. More people came in and which includes a security officer, but none of them did anything to ask or help her. They just watch her lay there and went off. I dont think she died instantly from the fall because she was still moving after she fell, so if someone had help her earlier, she could possibly avoid the unfortunate death. I dont know why the people there didn't help her, it could be that they thought she was sleeping but she was lying face down, so something is wrong. I think what is even wrong is the fact that the hospital staff had falsified Green's records to cover up the time she had lain there without assistance. That is just not right at all. How can you try to protect your own self interest when you could be responsible for someone's death? I just don't understand.
I am glad that the surveillance camera managed to catch the video of the incident or I doubt that the hospital stuff will admit their mistake. It is also important to take note of the fact that the hospital do not have a good reputation when it comes to giving treatment to the patients. Last year, the hospital was sued because the conditions at the facility are filthy. The lawsuit also claims that patients were complaining of face physical abuse and are injected with drugs to keep them docile. The fact that the woman who died in this case had to wait for almost 24 hours for treatment shows how bad the conditions are. If I was one of the person in the room, I would definitely go to her and see whether there is anything wrong whether she had deliberately fell or not. I mean if you see someone lying down face down, you should do something right? I believe nobody should be subjected to this kind of treatment especially when you are in a hospital even if it is a psychiatric one. It took 45 minutes before someone realised that something is wrong and went to ask for help, that for me is just deplorable and unacceptable.
I hope that there will be a thorough investigation regarding this matter and I really wish that there won't be a similar incident happening again. If you would like to watch the video footage, please click here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEYF7mRPXyI . Before I end, I want you to see what the lady in the yellow shirt on the far left side of the video is doing. She was there the during the entire incident but didnt do a thing until the help came and when it did, she was looks like she was angry. I wonder what she was doing for the previous 45 minutes. You decide for yourself.
*The report was taken from CNN.
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