The hospital that discharged Nicholas Osuteye days before he allegedly attacked three women in downtown Vancouver has completed an internal review of operating procedures, and released a list of five recommendations.
St. Paul’s Hospital admitted Osuteye on Dec. 5 after the University of Alberta graduate told police he was worried about his medication. Two days after he saw a psychiatrist, police allege Osuteye went on a vicious rampage that left two women gravely injured and another so wounded she was unable to speak.
The suspect was arrested a short distance from the crime scene wearing only his underwear.
Dr. Maria Corral, head of psychiatry at St. Paul’s, said she couldn’t comment directly on Osuteye’s case because of patient confidentiality, but insisted protocols were properly followed.
“What I can assure the public of is that we did a very good job of delivering clinical care and all of the clinical processes were sound in this particular case,” Corral said.
Corral said the hospital conducts reviews with a “no-blame outlook,” primarily to look for opportunities to improve care and fill gaps in the system.
Among the hospital’s recommendations is a call for better access to a patient’s police records to help facilitate a full psychiatric risk assessment.
It suggests the creation of a “transition coordinator” position in the psychiatric emergency room to obtain collateral information, facilitate discharge planning and liaise with the patient’s family.
Osuteye’s mother Mercy told CTV News she only heard about her son’s St. Paul’s stay after she received a bill for his ambulance ride.
Other recommendations include a 24-hour psychiatric clinical nurse leader position, meetings between physicians and psychiatrists to discuss key information on mental health certificates, and a call for guidance on improved communication between care centres both in and out-of-province.
Less than a year ago, another mental health patient, Mohamed Amer, was released from St. Paul’s Hospital shortly before being arrested in connection with a violent crime.
Amer, a man known to police across Canada for a list of violent and property-related offences, was taken to the hospital by police twice on Feb. 21 but released the same day.
Shortly after, he allegedly plunged a knife into the torso of a 71-year-old man at the Waves Coffee House on Hastings Street, nearly killing him.
That case also sparked a review that concluded in August with a set of 22 recommendations aimed at improving communications between police and hospital staff.
Corral said St. Paul’s is still in the process of acting on them.
“We’ve implemented a very sound working group to look at all of these recommendations in detail and that we’re continuing to work through the need to implement these recommendations,” she said. “It takes time, we want to make sure we do a thorough job of it.”
St. Paul’s sees thousands of mental health patients annually, and says it has seen a 43 per cent increase in recent years.
Osuteye has been charged with three counts of attempted murder and one count each of assault and mischief. He is currently undergoing psychiatric assessment.
With a report from CTV British Columbia’s Lisa Rossington
