13 October, 2013

New measures at S.F. General after patient death - SFGate

New measures at S.F. General after patient death - SFGate: San Francisco General Hospital put new security measures in place Friday in response to the death of a patient whose body was found in a rarely used stairwell beyond an alarm-equipped door 17 days after she went missing during treatment.

Hospital officials have not said whether an alarm triggered when Lynne Spalding, 57, entered the stairwell after she vanished Sept. 21 from her bed on the fifth floor. But it wasn't until Tuesday that she was found during a routine quarterly check of the stairwell, which was used as a fire escape, officials said. She was found on the fourth floor.