Elderly woman died after hoist at Hobart nursing home St Anns broke and dropped her to ground

An elderly woman died after she was dropped a metre to the ground when her hoist at a Hobart nursing home broke, a coroner has revealed.

AN ELDERLY woman died after she was dropped a metre to the ground when her hoist at Hobart’s St Anns nursing home failed.

In her findings released on Tuesday, Coroner Olivia McTaggart said there was no evidence a hoist had ever failed in such a manner before, either at St Anns or at other nursing homes in Tasmania.

Ms McTaggart said Janet Patricia Oates, 83, was a retired cook and a long-time South Hobart resident before moving into St Anns on Davey Street during 2017 with limited mobility.

She said Mrs Oates was being transferred from her bed to a shower chair on July 4, 2019, when the hoist failed and she was dropped to the ground, suffering vertebral fractures.

Mrs Oates was transported by ambulance to the Royal Hobart Hospital, with her level of consciousness abruptly deteriorating the following day.

She died that night from hospital-acquired pneumonia caused by her injuries, with her frailty and osteoporosis also contributing to her death.

Ms McTaggart said an investigation found the lower bolt under the hoist’s scale was worn.

She found that as the hoist took Mrs Oates’ weight, the worn nut detached from the bolt, causing the arm that held the sling to separate and drop to the floor.

Ms McTaggart said the hoist was regularly serviced by two separate service providers, but that the hoist had missed its annual service in May 2019.

She said the failure to have it serviced by the due date represented a “lost opportunity” to prevent Mrs Oates’ tragic death.

Ms McTaggart said experts had commented the integrity of any critical nut and bolt combination could be reinforced by a split pin or with a thread locking adhesive.

She recommended all nursing homes review their hoist maintenance schedules to ensure they were serviced at appropriate intervals.

The coroner also recommended technicians use thread locking adhesives or split pins to provide additional security.

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