Our Port Macquarie office acts for many regional patients throughout NSW who suffer injury as a result of health care treatment which does not meet reasonable standards. As a result of our experiences acting in these cases, we know what can go terribly wrong in a hospital setting. We were therefore saddened, but not surprised, to read a Sydney Morning Herald article about the treatment of 82 year old Port Macquarie local Tony Coulston. Mr Coulston had lung cancer and was admitted to Port Macquarie Hospital on 22 January 2021 with breathing difficulties. Two days later, Mr Coulston suffered an ‘unwitnessed fall’. He was found by nursing staff face down on the floor, bruised and with a black eye, broken nose, shattered teeth and a lump on his forehead. Not only had staff failed to carry out a mandatory falls risk assessment but there was a two hour delay in informing Mr Coulston’s family about the fall. It was nearly 8 hours later, as Mr Coulston was finally being wheeled out of his room for a CT scan, that his condition deteriorated and he began vomiting blood. Distressingly, nurses called for doctors four times over the next two-and-a-half hours, but there was an “inability to engage the medical team”. When the doctor arrived, Mr Coulston was administered with anti-nausea medication and was heavily sedated to control his pain. He died on 27 January.
Mr Coulston’s story highlights concerns about the way hospital’s conduct internal investigations – known as serious adverse event reviews – which can take much longer than the required timeframes and which often do not provide families with satisfactory answers as to what went wrong, how it went wrong and what system improvements will be implemented to prevent it happening again. Our office is also concerned at the increasing number of deaths which are refused further investigation by the Coroner’s office. Mr Coulston’s death was one of them.
Like many of our clients, Mr Coulston was elderly, vulnerable and had underlying health issues. By all accounts he had enjoyed a vibrant life as a publican and was well loved by his friends and family, who advocated strongly for him. Many of our clients do not have the benefit of someone in their corner. That’s why they come to us.
We acknowledge that the regional healthcare system faces enormous pressure in these unprecedented times, however, without appropriate scrutiny of system failures, we will continue to hear stories like those of Mr Coulston.
If you, or your family, have suffered as a result of medical treatment, we invite you to contact our compassionate medical negligence team for an obligation free discussion by booking on our website or contacting us on 02 4050 0330.
Read Article Here: https://www.smh.com.au/national/doctors-left-dying-dad-spouting-blood-after-horror-hospital-fall-20220701-p5ayeg.html
