New mental health unit needed at Prince Charles Hospital, inquest hears

A nurse has told an inquest into a cluster of patient suicides at a large Brisbane public hospital that "a whole new mental health unit" is needed.

The registered nurse, whose name cannot be published, was on shift at The Prince Charles Hospital on the day Kendal Quicke, 31, died by suicide in November 2023.

A coronial inquest is examining the deaths of Ms Quicke and two other patients, Barry Ellery, 77, and Miranda Meyer, 37, who also took their own lives at the facility the same year.

The inquest heard that on the day Ms Quicke died, a protocol was in place for nurses to visually observe her every 15 minutes.

The nurse witness was asked extensive questions about whether those observations were done.

She was asked about records showing Ms Quicke was in the toilet when the nurse checked on her at 3:10pm.

"It says in my statement I called out to Kendal are you okay and she immediately responded that she was," the nurse said.

She confirmed she did not actually see Ms Quicke.

Counsel then asked the nurse: "The correct way in which to do therapeutic observation is to directly visualise a patient isn't it?"

"Not all the time — you have to respect their dignity," the nurse replied.

The registered nurse was also asked if she had any recollection of Ms Quicke's former partner warning her, in person when delivering a bag of belongings, that the patient had been googling methods of suicide while in hospital.

"No, I don't recall," the nurse replied.

She also did not recall if the patient's former partner specifically suggested an item should be removed for safety reasons.

The nurse told the inquest that physical changes made to bathroom doors since the cluster of suicides had made the unit safer and there had been improvements with staffing and the freeing up of nurse team leaders from some duties.

However, when asked what more could be done to improve the facility, the nurse said: "Can I just be really broad and say we need a whole new mental health unit?"

"There's blind spots, there's so many things, I could go on and on and on, I would like a purpose-built mental health unit," the nurse told the court.

She was also asked if the facility was full most of the time.

"Yes, absolutely," she answered.

More questions on search history

A different mental health nurse who worked at the hospital in 2023 recalled her interactions with Ms Quicke on the morning she died.

A lawyer representing the families of the deceased patients asked the nurse if she was aware Ms Quicke's former partner had informed the ward that she had been googling self-harm methods.

The nurse also responded that she wasn't aware.

When asked if information about such google searches would have been "relevant to your opinion on her risk" the nurse replied "yes, it would have".

The nurse also agreed that had she known about the patient's internet searches she would have been more alert to looking for safety risks in her room and informing other nursing staff.

However, the registered nurse also said the 31-year-old appeared "quite calm" and had "no visible signs of distress" when she had a conversation with her that morning.

"And that is why I handed over that we had a very good, plus lengthy, conversation in my email and I remember leaving that day thinking that it was a good conversation," said the nurse who can't be named.

The inquest before coroner Megan Fairweather is due to run for two weeks.

It will examine the appropriateness and adequacy of the mental health care and treatment provided by the Metro North Hospital and Health Service at the time of the three deaths.