Adelaide Grandmother Dies Alone in Hospital Corridor as Family Demands Answers
The grieving family of an Adelaide grandmother is calling for accountability after the 64-year-old woman died alone in a hospital corridor at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. Disturbing CCTV footage obtained by 7NEWS reveals that Helen Sargent was left unattended for over an hour without access to an emergency buzzer, despite arriving at the facility complaining of breathing difficulties.
Tragic Circumstances Revealed in CCTV Footage
When Helen arrived at the $2 billion hospital late last year, no rooms were available. Instead, she was wheeled into a nook outside a kitchen area, where she would spend her final moments. Helen's son Damien Sargent expressed outrage, stating, "She's been treated like a piece of rubbish." The CCTV footage shows Helen's bed being briefly attended at 9:51 am on October 11, 2025. She had a mask but no emergency buzzer to alert staff if her condition worsened.
Damien highlighted the inadequacy of her care, noting, "With somebody who's having breathing difficulties, you're not going to have a blue mask over their mouth." Fifty minutes later, someone walked past without stopping. At 10:55 am, staff finally checked on Helen and found her unresponsive. Immediate CPR was initiated, but she was pronounced dead just fifteen minutes later.
Family's Heartbreak and Systemic Failures
Helen's daughter Megan Sargent shared her ongoing trauma, saying, "I can't sleep at night. All I see is mum, you know, in the corridor by herself dying. And I can't get on with life." An examination of Helen's patient records uncovered further alarming details. An attempt was made to move her bed into the CPR position, but it wasn't connected to power. Additionally, there was a delay in administering oxygen due to patient overflow at the hospital.
In a tragic and ironic twist, Helen was eventually moved into a hospital room—but only after she had died. The incident left hospital staff so distressed that they were sent home for the day. One worker encapsulated their feelings in a three-word statement written in Helen's medical notes: "The system stinks."
Official Response and Family's Legal Preparations
Helen's other son, Simon Sargent, voiced the family's anguish and determination for justice. "My mother should have lived that day, but through the hospital's action, she's now no longer with us," he said. "I wouldn't want that to happen to anyone, to anyone's family." SA Health informed 7NEWS that three internal reviews have been conducted by the health network's own senior clinicians. These clinicians concluded that the patient's death was unrelated to being left in the corridor and asserted there were no delays in providing medical support or access to appropriate equipment during resuscitation efforts.
The coroner's findings are still pending, but Helen's family is already preparing for a potential legal battle. Simon criticized the hospital, remarking, "This great new hospital, $2 billion or whatever it cost them to build, is supposed to be one of the best in the world. Clearly it isn't." The family's quest for answers continues as they seek to ensure such a tragedy does not occur again.
