Calvary Mater Hospital staff dispute delayed critical care, coroner finds

A New South Wales coroner has determined that interdepartmental tensions and a policy dispute at Calvary Mater Hospital delayed critical care for a 70-year-old woman, contributing to her death.

In February 2021, the patient, who was an involuntary resident in the Mental Health Older Persons Unit, experienced a rapid deterioration characterized by low blood pressure and cold skin. Although a rapid response team moved her to the emergency department just before midnight, Deputy State Coroner Judge Stuart Devine found that staff focused on arguing over which department was responsible for her care rather than conducting a medical assessment.

No basic assessment was performed during a nearly three-hour delay. Action regarding her known eight-centimetre abdominal aortic aneurysm was not taken until approximately 3:00 a.m., when the emergency department's specialist on call returned to the hospital. The woman subsequently died at John Hunter Hospital on February 21, 2021.