A Tasmanian coroner has criticised the actions of staff at the Launceston General Hospital (LGH) after a patient died just hours after being discharged — the latest in a series of damning findings.
In July 2019, Gordon Arthur David Mitchell was unresponsive and taken by ambulance to the Emergency Department of the LGH.
The 54-year-old was diagnosed as having a heart attack and underwent a successful procedure for the placement of a stent in an artery.
Mr Mitchell was discharged three days later, but developed chest pain, shortness of breath and cold sweats on the way home and returned to the hospital.
Staff at the LGH gave Mr Mitchell medication and he was discharged home, where he collapsed and died later that evening.
Coroner Simon Cooper found Mr Mitchell's treatment and discharge during his first hospital visit to be appropriate.
"However, the same cannot be said in relation to his second presentation on 8 to 10 July, 2019 and the decision to discharge him on 10 July, 2019."
"At the very least, Mr Mitchell should have been monitored in the hospital for a longer period."
The coroner said there was a strong argument for the insertion of a defibrillator, "something that does not appear to have even been considered".
In a statement, LGH's executive director of medical services Dr Peter Renshaw said the "Department of Health extends its sincere condolences to the family of Mr Mitchell".
"The department is committed to continuous improvement and will carefully consider the Coroner's report," he said.
LGH emergency department 'in crisis', AMA says
The findings come as the Australian Medical Association (AMA) released the Tasmanian Chapter of the AMA public hospital report card for 2022, which the AMA said should worry all Tasmanians.
"Tasmania continues to languish at the bottom of the performance of our states and territories when it comes to public hospital performance," AMA president Dr Omar Khorshid said.
"Particularly in the area of elective surgery, where just over a third of patients who need their surgery within 90 days are actually getting it within that recommended time frame," Dr Khorshid said.
The data also showed in the 2020-21 reporting period, Tasmanians were waiting longer for emergency treatment, with only 49 per cent of triage category three patients receiving care within the recommended time of half an hour.
"These are people with severely painful conditions, broken bones, things that really need to be dealt with rapidly," Dr Khorshid said.
"Of course, time is critical when it comes to those urgent conditions and a delay can mean a far worse outcome for that patient."
Chair of the AMA Tasmanian Council Dr Glenn Richardson said the LGH emergency department was "in crisis".
"Every day, 140 to 150 more people end up in our emergency department, a good 30 are admitted and they have nowhere to go.
He said one of the key issues is access to the emergency department.
"We have ambulances banked up, they can't get their patients out, doctors are left trying to see people in closets, in corridors, on seats."
"Some people sit outside with bleeding issues or fractures, or an abdominal pain, and they're waiting and they're waiting and they're waiting longer than they should be, and that's just a capacity issue."
Funds must stay with health, AMA says
As a solution, the AMA is hoping to secure a new funding agreement to improve performance at state-run hospitals, by moving to a 50-50 funding agreement between state and federal governments.
Dr Khorshid said they are calling on the federal government to commit to spending more money on public hospitals.
"At the moment, the federal government pays for 45 per cent of public hospital funding, we think it should be 50 per cent.
"And that extra money should be re-invested by our state governments into public hospitals.
The AMA has written to all health ministers around the country, seeking assurance that any extra funds will be spent on health.
Government MP Guy Barnett said the Tasmanian government had made "record investments in health and health services throughout Tasmania".
"We now have more doctors, more nurses, and record funding."
But Dr Khorshid said the AMA is still waiting on an assurance from the Tasmanian government that they would not divert any extra funds from the state's healthcare system.
