Canton of Aargau issues warning "Inadequate supervision" - autistic man (18) dies in psychiatric ward
A teenager with autism died three years ago in the Königsfelden psychiatric clinic in Windisch AG from self-inflicted injuries. The canton has now issued a warning.
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- In January 2021, an 18-year-old autistic man succumbed to the consequences of self-harm he inflicted by falling on his head in an Aargau psychiatric clinic.
- The Health Department of the Canton of Aargau issued a warning following supervisory proceedings against Psychiatrische Dienste Aargau AG.
- The patient's impairments would have required 1:1 care - this measure was not implemented by PDAG.
The 18-year-old repeatedly fell on his head in December 2020. After several falls, staff found him unconscious on the floor on 30 December. The autistic teenager was then flown by rescue helicopter to Zurich University Hospital, where he succumbed to his serious injuries on January 2, 2021.
According to the "Aargauer Zeitung" newspaper, the Brugg-Zurzach public prosecutor's office then launched an investigation into a doctor and in April 2021, the Canton of Aargau's Department of Health opened supervisory proceedings.
The proceedings against Psychiatrische Dienste Aargau AG (PDAG) have now been concluded, as the canton announced on Thursday morning.
Inadequate supervision and measures not taken
The Department of Health has issued a warning against PDAD "due to inadequate supervision and failure to order further necessary measures as well as insufficient monitoring of medication/therapy".
According to an expert opinion from the Psychiatric University Hospital Zurich, the patient's impairments would have required 1:1 care. If this had not been possible, other measures should have been considered or the patient should have been transferred to another clinic where 1:1 care would have been possible, the health department continued in the statement.
According to the expert opinion, there were no medical reasons on the day of the accident why no measures could have been taken. PDAG had "incorrectly assessed the potential for self-harm on that day or at least failed to take the necessary protective measures to prevent or sufficiently minimize self-harm".
PDAG must draw up a new concept for protective measures
PDAG must now draw up a concept within a period of nine months "which sets out the procedure and the protective measures to be applied to patients who pose an acute, significant risk of self-harm".
Other points raised in the supervisory complaint against PDAG were dropped by the Department of Health. According to the statement, there is no evidence that the patient's treatment was inadequate up to the day of the accident.
