Inquest of man (69) found dead after absconding from hospital hears his previous attempt to leave was not shared with medical staff

Patrick Rowland (69) from Lahardane, Co Mayo was suffering from pneumonia and sepsis when he absconded from Mayo University Hospital (MUH) in his pyjamas, in freezing temperatures in the early hours of January 17, last year.

Mr Rowland was discovered dead in a local river in Castlebar two days later.

An inquest into his death heard Mr Rowland, a married father of three adult children was agitated and sleep-deprived after languishing on a trolley for 43 hours but was not suicidal, his inquest heard.

An inquest has established that Mr Rowland drowned after falling from a high riverbank close to the Educate Together National School in Castlebar town centre.

It is believed he fell into the river in a state of confusion and did not intentionally take his own life.

Coroner for Mayo Pat O’Connor said no evidence put before him in the three days of evidence suggested Mr Rowland was suffering from suicidal thoughts or wished to harm himself.

Two security guards in MUH gave detailed evidence of being alerted by a porter to Mr Rowland being agitated and wishing to leave the hospital at approximately 9.30pm on January 16, 2023.

This was just three and a half hours before he made a second successful bid to abscond.

Mr John Joyce, a security officer said he and his colleague, responded to a report of a man wandering anxiously around an area of the hospital a considerable distance from the Emergency Department.

The man, Patrick Rowland, was described as uncooperative and told Mr Joyce who was encouraging him to return to the ED, “I just want to go home.”

Mr Joyce brought Mr Rowland back to the ED and placed him on a chair in front of the nurses chair as Mr Rowland would not get back onto trolley where he had spent the last 39 hours.

Mr Joyce said he told Clinical Nurse Manager of the Emergency Department Jonsa Jose, he was concerned about Mr Rowland’s agitated state and wish to leave the hospital.

Mr Joyce under cross examination by Mr Roger Murray SC for the Rowland family that he was worried about Mr Rowland and stayed with him for an hour monitoring him.

Mr Joyce only left Mr Rowland when his son Cormac Rowland attended the Emergency Department at 10.30pm.

Jonsa Jose, CNM who was in charge of the Emergency Department that night said she had no recollection of Mr Joyce telling her about Mr Rowland.

She did recall Mr Rowland being upset and angry he had to wait so long for a bed but said this was a very reasonable position for him as he had waited such a long time.

Ms Jose told the inquest the ED was extremely busy and while she recalled Mr Rowland coming to her she did not remember being informed he attempted to abscond.

Mr Joyce said he did tell Ms Jose but did not get a response other than ‘Can you keep an eye on him’ as she was in the middle of dealing with a packed Emergency Department.

Ms Jose said she did not believe Mr Rowland was delirious or confused at the time and recalled explicitly him sitting at the nurses station and saying he would not leave until she got him a bed.

She said he made those around him laugh with his statements about not leaving the nursing station and said his feelings were reasonable and understandable in the very difficult circumstances he endured.

Nurses who cared for Mr Rowland earlier in his admission to the ED at MUH described him as alert and orientated and a friendly kind man.

A nurse who had cared for him throughout the day told the inquest she Mr Rowland was tired and was very eager to get a bed so he could sleep.

Mr Rowland was finally transferred to a bed on B ward after midnight on January 17 after almost 43 hours on a trolley.

Peter Burke, the staff nurse caring for him received a handover that included the clinical findings and Mr Rowlands medical conditions but no mention was made of his agitation or previous attempt to leave the hospital.

He agreed with Mr Roger Murray SC, of Callan Tansey, the family representative that had he been told this information he would have close monitored Mr Rowland as it was “very important information”.

The inquest previously heard Mr Rowland had only been transferred to the ward less than an hour before he absconded from the hospital.

Mr Rowland was agitated, angry and distressed in the hours before his disappearance, which was not in keeping with his good-humoured personality.

After leaving the hospital, he rang his son Cormac, who lives in Parke, Castlebar, to collect him outside the TF Hotel across from the hospital but Mr Rowland was not there when his son rushed to find him.

Conflicting evidence about the timing of Mr Rowlands departure from the hospital and when the staff became aware and when the gardai were informed was also heard.

Coroner Pat O’Connor said owing the public importance around the tragedy he invited both legal representative of the Rowland family and the HSE to make written submissions to him on the verdict available.

Mr O’Connor said he will return a verdict on July 22