Beaten Waterford patient found drunk inside hospital
The mother of a man who was brutally beaten while on a day pass from the Waterford Hospital last week now wants to know why her son was able to get drunk inside the mental health facility just five days later.
Mitchell Fudge, 22, was found intoxicated and beaten up on Jensen Camp Road Friday night after being given a privileged day pass to go out on his own.
On Wednesday night, Fudge's mother, Lisa, received a call that her son drank a flask of vodka inside the Waterford and caused an altercation in a hospital hallway.
Hospital staff had to call a code and he was placed in a quiet room under constant care.
Lisa Fudge said she believes another patient purchased the alcohol for her son while out on a day pass and snuck it back into the hospital for him. Alcohol is not permitted within the Waterford Hospital.
"I'm very concerned, because to me history is repeating itself," she said.
"This is not the first or second or third time that Mitchell's been caught with alcohol on the unit, so to me we've got a real problem here with these passes and it's something that needs to be looked at from a greater level."
Fudge said her son Mitchell suffers from delusions and addiction, and has spent the last year in and out of the Waterford.
Staff do not usually search patients for contraband
Eastern Health officials said patients are not searched for contraband materials when they come back from a day out; rather, hospital officials say they operate on a system of trust with their patients.
Unless they have a reason to believe the patient has brought back contraband materials, the nursing staff simply asks the patient if they have anything with them that is not allowed.
"For the most part, most patients are engaged in their treatment plan. They know what's expected in terms of them leaving and coming back to the unit. And if they tell us no, we trust that they're telling us the truth," said Isobel Keefe, the regional program director for mental health and addictions.
Keefe said that decisions regarding consequences for altercations are made by the patient's psychiatrist and personal care team.
Lisa Fudge said that after her son was found on Friday night, he was placed on constant supervision. However, she was not informed when this ended.
Fudge said there needs to be a radical overhaul in how day passes are distributed at the Waterford Hospital.
"The Waterford has a history of people going out on passes and doing what they want. It's not a resort, they're there for help. If they're in the hospital it's because they have a mental health problem," she said.
"This could have lead to death for my son. I'm a very lucky mother that my son was alive ... I just want to know what they're going to do about this."
Dr. Neil Young, clinical chief of mental health and addiction with Eastern Health, said that day passes are an important part of some patients' treatment plans.
"Like any other part of treatment there's risks and boundaries and side effects. We need to go down that road with privileges and passes to develop trust, to develop wellbeing for the individuals that are being granted these sorts of liberties," he said.
"It goes hand in hand with treatment."
