An elderly rest home resident who was choking on mashed potato died without the nurse who responded to her attempting CPR, the Health and Disability Commission has found.
Deputy commissioner Rose Wall today released a report finding the nurse had breached the 85-year-old's right to reasonable care under the Code of Health and Disability Services.
The nurse was called to assist a caregiver when the 85-year-old woman was found choking in the rest home dining hall, the HDC said. The woman was found unresponsive, with no signs of breathing and no radial pulse.
The nurse told another nurse to call 111 and administered four hard back slaps. After that didn't work she moved the woman out of the dining room to an area where there was more space, laying her on the floor and again checking for signs of life. She made no attempt to perform CPR while waiting for the ambulance.
Paramedics arrived and found mashed potato blocking the woman's airway. The woman had no pulse and was pronounced dead.