Dead Patient Left In Bed For 6 Hours

[The Straight Story]

Dead Patient Left In Bed For 6 Hours

POSTED: 6:18 am EDT June 22, 2006
UPDATED: 1:20 pm EDT June 22, 2006

A state agency that regulates hospitals may investigate why it took six hours for officials at a Melbourne hospital to remove a deceased patient from a room shared with another patient.

"It's definitely something of interest," Brandi Brown, a spokeswoman for the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, said Wednesday. "We're looking into it now."

Holmes Regional Medical Center officials admitted the mistake occurred but would not discuss details about the patients involved or what day it took place, according to Local 6 News partner Florida Today.

"There was a breakdown here. This should not have happened," said Chris Kennedy, president of the 514-bed Melbourne hospital. "There is no excuse for the lack of timeliness on this issue. We've never had anything like this happen before."

http://www.local6.com/news/9408985/detail.html