Nurse tells Lisa's parents:  'We failed you . . . we're sorry'

STEVE RUSSELL/TORONTO STAR

TESTIMONY: Sick Kids' nurse Jean Reeder, above, spoke directly to Sharon and Bill Shore, below.

The chief nurse of the Hospital for Sick Children has apologized to the family of Lisa Shore, a 10-year-old girl who died at the hospital after seeking relief from pain caused by a disorder that was not life-threatening. 

Jean Reeder addressed Lisa's mother shortly after entering the witness box yesterday to testify at the inquest into the girl's death. 

``We failed you as an institution,'' Reeder said, looking directly at Sharon Shore. ``We are terribly sorry.'' 

Shore met her gaze, but later angrily rejected the apology. 

``What I got today on the stand, as far as I am concerned, is not an apology,'' Shore said outside the inquest. ``I am very happy to accept an apology from the hospital when they accept responsibility for Lisa's death. 

``What I heard was insincere . . . something said on the stand so they can say they actually did the right thing. 

``But if it takes a coroner's inquest and 15 months of lies and cover-up to get an apology which is totally worthless, then I have no use for that kind of apology.'' 

Shore said her family will not be satisfied until the hospital shows that it accepts responsibility, ``by immediately terminating people who are guilty of negligence.'' 

Lisa died suddenly of respiratory and heart failure around 7:15 a.m. on Oct. 22, 1998. 

Shore said she had not received any apology from the hospital before yesterday. 

In response to questioning by hospital lawyer Patrick Hawkins, Reeder yesterday identified shortcomings in the hospital's care for Lisa, including:  Failure of staff to follow hospital protocols for monitoring patients against the possible deadly effects of morphine.  Flaws in the hospital's high-tech computerized system for recording doctor's orders.  Failure of nurses to look for doctors' orders, inadequate patient charting, errors and substandard treatment.  Delays in the hospital's investigation of the incident.  Communication gaps between the hospital and the coroner's office, and between doctors and nurses. 
 

But Reeder denied that any of the hospital's mistakes were intentional. 

``I find that (suggestion) outrageous, and I absolutely disagree with any insinuation that there were intentional things that happened,'' she said. 

``It's pretty devastating to have kids die,'' Reeder added. ``We see this as an opportunity to learn . . . to identify the gaps in our system . . . and to continue to improve the patient care we provide.'' 

Reeder testified she would deal with nurses who performed in a substandard way by talking to them. 

``That chief nurse would be a wonderful person to work for,'' Shore said later, ``because obviously nurses can do whatever they want and they can learn from mistakes and kill their patients because there are no consequences.'' 

Reeder told the jurors that if nurses Ruth Doerksen and Anagaile Soriano, who cared for Lisa that night, choose to remain in their field, ``I am comfortable that they will be good nurses because they have learned in spades.'' 

Several jurors questioned Reeder closely. 

``So there was no investigation of the nurses (by the hospital)?'' asked juror Lawrence Dillon. ``Doesn't that seem odd?'' 

``Yes, it does,'' Reeder replied. 

``How can you sit there and attest to the absolute honesty of nurses when we have had such conflicting testimony and (so many) errors?'' asked jury foreperson Gail Allegri. 

``In my professional judgment and years of experience, I do believe that they are telling the truth,'' Reeder replied. 

Allegri told Reeder that the jurors were concerned about the number of ``surprises'' that had emerged ``almost daily'' at the inquest, referring to important documents and tapes that were not disclosed earlier. 

``Have we seen every item that may have been in a chart or related to Lisa's care that we may have missed?'' Allegri asked. 

Reeder replied that as far as she was aware, the jurors had received all of the relevant material. The jurors are expected to begin their deliberations later today.