paralyzed from the neck down, was so worried about the quality of
nursing care he was receiving at home that he had a camera set up in
his room to monitor the activity around him.
The Englishman’s worst fears were realized when the
camera recorded his nurse switching off his life-support system,
apparently by accident, then fumbling to revive him while he lay
helpless in bed. Merrett, 37, is now brain-damaged.
On Monday, that grainy footage was broadcast on
national television, shocking Britons and adding to the catalog of
medical horror stories that have left many here bemoaning the state of
the nation’s vaunted National Health Service.
Health officials have apologized to Merrett’s family for the incident, which occurred in
“His life is completely changed. He doesn’t have a life now,” Merrett’s sister,
Merrett was injured in a traffic accident in 2002.
Though paralyzed, he was able to speak and operate an electric
wheelchair and a computer through voice-activated technology, the BBC
reported.
While being cared for at home in southwestern
Merrett apparently grew concerned over possible slip-ups with his
ventilator by nurses sent by his local health authority, part of the
NHS, so he arranged to have a camera installed near his bed.
Days later, the camera caught a nurse, identified by the BBC as
turning off the life-support system while another caregiver cries:
“What’ve you done?” The BBC said it took 21 minutes before paramedics
were able to get all the equipment properly running again. Merrett’s
sister says his mental age is now that of a child.
The local health authority said in a statement
Monday that it has taken measures to ensure “such an event will not
occur again either for this patient or others.” It declined to go into
further details about what happened to Merrett because “litigation is
likely.”
The incident comes as the British government
prepares a major restructuring of the NHS, including granting doctors
more power over spending decisions. Although the agency has been
protected from funding cutbacks in the government’s stinging austerity
program, critics say the changes will not improve care.
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