Mum's the word on Rolling Stone's tumble

Keith Richards kicks off the Big Bang concert at Western Springs last month. Picture / Greg Bowker

Security remained tight last night at Auckland's Ascot Hospital where Rolling Stones' guitarist Keith Richards is recovering after falling from a coconut tree in Fiji.

The 62-year-old rocker is said to be suffering mild concussion after falling from the tree on Thursday while holidaying at a luxury resort in Fiji.

News of his fall, reported around the world, yesterday brought a small handful of concerned fans to the private hospital.

Earlier Richards' wife, Patti, was seen arriving at Ascot with several minders who carried three guitar cases inside.

Security guards sat in the entrance of the hospital and patrolled the grounds while media waited outside.

The Rolling Stones' New York publicist released a statement during the weekend saying Richards had a mild concussion.

The statement did not go into detail about how the concussion occurred, only that it happened while Richards was holiday in Fiji.

"Following treatment locally and as a precautionary measure he flew to a hospital accompanied by his wife, Patti, for observation."

Ascot staff were unable to comment on Richards' condition and referred media calls to Lynn Smart, the Stones' publicist while the band toured New Zealand last month.

Ms Smart had no update from New York and was unable to even confirm that Richards was staying at Ascot Hospital.

Richards and his wife were staying at the luxury resort Wakaya Club when the tree-climbing accident is believed to have taken place.

There have also been reports that Richards was also involved in a jet-skiing accident after falling from the tree.

Britain's Times newspaper said Richards was collecting coconuts with fellow-band member Ronnie Wood when the accident happened, and that the guitarist was "a bit disoriented" after falling about 5m and banging his head. Richards was initially taken to Suva Private Hospital in Fiji before being flown to Auckland.

A doctor from the Suva hospital, Uzzal Kanti Dhar, has since been disciplined for speaking to media.

The hospital's chief executive, Dr Tim Smart, said Dr Dhar had broken confidentiality by speaking about Richards' admission to the hospital and was now facing the con-sequences.

"He's been suspended and will be fired. He had no right to make any comment."

Mr Smart said Dr Dhar had spoken out against the law and medical ethics. He was "not even in the hospital" at the time Richards was admitted.

Despite his publicist saying Richards only had mild concussion, the guitarist has reportedly been assessed by an Auckland neurosurgeon and orthopaedic specialist.

Doctors the Herald spoke to last night said concussion was a word that covered a wide range of patient circumstances, but it would be unusual for people with mild concussion to stay in hospital for so long.

One doctor said it was not uncommon, however, for patients with more than mild concussion to be in hospital for several days.

A Neurological Foundation patient guide to concussion says many people have unpleasant symptoms for several weeks after being concussed, and that older people take longer to recover.

Common symptoms included tiredness, poor concentration, irritability, dizziness, clumsiness, eye problems and headaches.

The Stones' next concert in their world tour is in Barcelona, Spain, on May 27, to be followed by 34 more across Europe. 

 
Stone unlucky

Richards has been unlucky in the past during Rolling Stones tours.

In 1998 the band had to delay a tour after he fell off a ladder while trying to retrieve a book in the library of his Connecticut mansion, damaging his ribs and chest.

Another tour was put back when Richards cut his hand on a broken guitar string and the wound became infected.