A coroner has recommended that The Alfred hospital review its Hospital in the Home program following the death of a Werribee teenager.
The Coroners Court heard that on the morning Andrew ‘Happy’ Gilmore died on May 22, 2009, administrators told the 17-year-old’s parents to give him painkillers and wait an hour to see if he felt better.
An ambulance was not called until hospital staff received a third phone call saying Andrew was struggling to breathe. He had not been returned to hospital the previous day, despite being in agonising pain.
In August, a two-day coronial inquest scrutinised the post-surgical program, under which about 60 patients receive daily nurse visits at their homes.
Andrew was injured playing for Glen Orden under-18s in the Western Region Football League in May 2009. He was rushed to Werribee Mercy Hospital after a blow to his sternum in a marking contest and was later transferred to The Alfred to have part of his pancreas removed.
Doctors told his family he would be in hospital for up to three months, but he was released on May 19 – 10 days after surgery.
Delivering her findings last Wednesday, Coroner Kim Parkinson said there had been a number of aspects about the program that led to a “less than desirable response” to Andrew’s deterioration.
She found the program relied too heavily on home carers to diagnose patients and there was a “lack of clarity” around who Andrew’s family should contact if his condition deteriorated.
However, she was unable to rule with certainty on whether Andrew’s life would have been saved had he been taken to hospital earlier.
“What is apparent from the evidence is that both Mr and Mrs Gilmore took every step which was reasonably available to them,” she said.
“There was nothing more that either parent could reasonably have done in order to escalate their concern or engage medical assistance,” she said.
The Alfred will review the coroner’s findings.
