A staff member hid in a nurses’ station during a dementia patient’s violent outburst which led to another patient’s death, an Adelaide inquest has heard. Coroner Mark Johns is investigating the death of 93-year-old Dorothy Mavis Baum, who was attacked at St Basil’s Nursing Home at Christie Downs in 2012. Dementia sufferer Rozalia Setalo, 85, had gone on a rampage, using a plastic chain and her walking frame as weapons, the inquest heard. Registered nurse Ute Latz, who was the main staff member assigned to care for residents in the wing, has given evidence to the coroner, who criticised her long pauses and failure to answer questions audibly and adequately. “I would ask you to speed up your responses because you are wasting the court’s time,” Mr Johns said. “Dragging this out isn’t going to make it any better.” Ms Latz told the inquest today she and a nursing home resident locked themselves in a nurses’ station after Ms Selato assaulted them in a hallway. The coroner was told Ms Latz left Ms Selato unsupervised for up to 15 minutes while she called triple-0 and looked after the injured resident she was with. Ms Latz conceded under questioning she had failed to check the welfare of other residents.
