Man suffers stroke not found for 20 hours

A man who suffered a stroke lay unconscious on the ground for more than 20 hours before being found, and today we learn the tragic news that the man has passed away.

While this story is not too uncommon, what’s shocking is that the man was in hospital when the stroke occurred.

The 67-year-old was an outpatient at the Royal North Shore Hospital, waiting for an appointment for diabetes treatment. Security footage confirms that he arrived for his appointment 1t 9.30am then, at some stage, nipped to the loo.

The man’s wife called the hospital on Monday night to ask if they had seen him, but was told he didn’t show up for his appointment.

It wasn’t until 6.30am the next morning that a cleaner found the man in the toilets in a critical condition.

He later died in hospital.

The hospital has launched an investigation into the incident, which has prompted the hospital to alter its end-of-day operations, and has firmed up it’s end of day policies to ensure that toilets are checked at the end of  every day.

But that’s too late for the man and his devastated wife. A spokeswoman for the hospital said the man’s family have asked for privacy.

This is not this first time this Sydney hospital has been rocked by scandal. In 2007 a 14-weeks pregnant woman miscarried in a public toilet, sparking a public inquiry.

Are you shocked to learn that this could happen, in a hospital? Are nurses too busy to notice who comes into outpatient clinics? Could this have happened to anyone?

What do you think needs to be done to make sure something like this never happens again?