Michael Power
As told by Michael’s Son, Joe Power
My name is Joe Power, and my father, Michael Power, died in the hospital last March. The circumstances around my father’s death left a giant question mark in our lives due to the lack of answers we received from the hospital during the original review. I wanted to share his story
My father was admitted to the hospital March 5th, 2021 due to a severe chest infection, which significantly worsened over the next few days. As a result of the pandemic, our family was barely able to visit my father and unable to see the care provided by the hospital first hand. The serious events arise on Saturday, March 13th, 2021, the day my father passed away.
Our family was advised to come to the hospital around 10:30 AM, during which we were not told over the phone that He had already passed. Upon arrival, there was a large, fist-sized, bruise on the side of his head. This bruise was dismissed and given zero explanation by staff when asked about. Later it was discovered that my Father had a series of bruises, consistent with those of a defensive fall, down his right hand side. This necessitated an autopsy, which was especially hard on our family as it further delayed the funeral.
Although the autopsy did not link the bruises to his death, the hospital took no serious action to explain the bruises. A review was opened by the hospital and it was verified by CCTV footage that my Father did fall, at least once, before his passing. However, this was not reported anywhere in his medical chart, not passed on to the medical team, nor reported to the family. It was only after the CCTV footage proved His fall, and ultimately the medical staff’s negligence of care, did the hospital accept their fault and apologize.
The hospital review concluded with reported findings that pointed to staff failure and the recommendation of staff retraining on a number of skills. The hospital ruled the bruising due to an “assisted fall,” although the bruising found was entirely incompatible with this type of fall.
We have filed a formal complaint with the hospital, which has not received an official response within the 9 months, and counting, of it being filed. I am sharing my Father’s story in hopes of his memory not being dismissed as another patient safety statistic.
