While Broken Hill Hospital's deficiencies did not cause or contribute to Braes' death, the hospital's administration and the Far West Local Health District downgraded the severity classification of the incident. She had a particular concern for newly graduated nurses assigned to care for non-acute patients who were still learning new skills and could potentially miss a deteriorating patient like Braes. Sign up here. "An older person would've been much more unwell, prior to me arriving.". Copyright IBTimes 2023. . Download the ABC News app for all the latest. Yesterday's fourth and final day of the Broken Hill hearing heard from two more doctors who reviewed Alex Braes while he was still in the city. "Certainly other hospitals will highlight a second presentation or third presentation, [to ask] 'have we missed something?'" Experts assembled for the inquest said they had notcompletely agreed on the cause of Alex's death. Mr Braes said the hardest thing was returning home to find his sons iPad, where the last thing he Googled was can pain kill you?, Every time I pick that iPad up, it just reminds me of him, he said. Alex and his father arrived back at the hospital. Deputy State Coroner Magistrate, Elizabeth Ryan, asked Ms Murphy whether the rule resulted in fewer cases of vital signs being taken and recorded at the hospital once implemented. "What are we doing about avoidable deaths, preventable deaths?" She also stressed within the delivery of the inquest's findings that doctors and nurses who attended to Mr Braes in Broken Hill were neither unprofessional or uncaring. a coroner has heard. 95 Hits - Ajith May 31, 2022, 7:26 PM. Browse for your location and find more local ABC News and information. The high-profile . and Fire at Capertree, Inquest into the Death of Nicholas LOUDON, Before her Honour Magistrate Kennedy, Deputy State Coroner, Inquest into the Death of Stanley RUSSELL, Byron Bay Local Court, Middleton St, Byron Bay 2481, Before her Honour Magistrate OSullivan, State Coroner. Unfortunately, the night pilot had called in sick. When a death is reported to the Coroner The coronial process explained for the family and friends of a deceased or missing person east Access to Coronial documents How to apply for documents used in an inquest or inquiry east Help and support Support for family and friends of a deceased or missing person east But questions are expected to continue about the handling of Alex Braes' case. I never got to see him again, Mr Braes sobbed. "Almost five years after Alex died this remains the case.". A doctor who later saw Alex Braes said the 18-year-old was 'the sickest patient he'd ever seen at Broken Hill' hospital. Doctors, who failed to check the vital signs of a teen who died from sepsis, are not responsible for the tragedy, according to a coroner who says they were prevented from doing so under a hospital business rule. Alex Braes, of Broken Hill, died in the early hours of Sept. 22, 2017, upon arriving at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney, 7News.com.au reported. The teen's vitals were only observed during his fourth and final presentation, and a suspected toenail infection was identified. "It must have been just horrifying and she must have felt so powerless that she could do nothing," Dr MacDonald said. Broken Hill teen Alex Braes died in 2017. Doctors suspected he had a ruptured tendon and recommended rest and ice. A traumatised doctor has broken down in tears at an inquest, reflecting on how a relatively well teenager was joking with his father the night before his sudden death. "I feel heartbroken that I still have my children and that you've lost your boy.". Doctors identified necrotising fasciitis, a deadly, flesh-eating disease, from an infected toenail in the teenager. Alex Braes died at Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital after going to another hospital four times. She said the inquest established therewereshortcomings in thecare provided to MrBraes at the hospital. It was not until his fourth and final presentationmore than 30 hours laterthat vital observations were taken of him and a suspected toenailinfection was identified. These figures meant the odds were against Alex Braes from the start. Broken Hill Hospital is one of several under the spotlight as a parliamentary inquiry probes the state of regional hospitals. "And I think that the clinicians who would have been with him when he was so sick in emergency will not forget him.". Liverpool welcomes UEFA report on Champions League final chaos in Paris. Alex Braes died on September 22, 2017, with a suspected flesh-eating bacteria known as necrotising fasciitis ravaging his system, after he was turned away three times from Broken Hill Hospitals emergency department. Findings and upcoming inquests - Coroners Court Inquest findings (since 2004) as well as non-inquest public interest matters (since 2012) are available below. Sign up and stay up to date with our daily newsletter. Dr Kerrie MacDonald is a paediatrician who used to work at Broken Hill Hospital and is still in the NSW health system. The inquest also heard the Broken Hill hospital is prevented from transferring patients to Adelaide, despite the SA capital being closer than Sydney. "There's always time pressure because there's only one triage nurse," replied Ms Murphy. A hospital in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) repeatedly sent an 18-year-old boy home before he died from sepsis, officials revealed this week. She recommended NSW and SA health departments urgently agree to cross-border transfers of critically ill patients from Broken Hill. It will include an autopsy report, police report, the victim number of the series, personal information of the victim, and much, much more to make the Coroner's Report . All NSW magistrates are coroners by virtue of their status: s 16. After arriving at Broken Hill base hospital on 21 September, Braes was put in a non-acute bed. 00:00. All the stuff he wanted to do, theyre all memories now.. Alex Braes, 18, died at Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital about 46 hours after limping into Broken Hill Base Hospital at 3am on September 20, 2017. Media Access When a Coroner investigates a death or a fire or explosion, the court gathers a range of documents which make up the coronial file. There was no autopsy so the cause of death cannot be definitively determined, Ms Edwards said. AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time which is 10 hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time), abc.net.au/news/alex-braes-inquest-findings-health-systems-criticised/101109422, Get breaking news alerts directly to your phone with our app, Help keep family & friends informed by sharing this article, China leaving US behind on development of critical technologies, report finds, Former minister takes 'absolute responsibility' for Robodebt, admits defending scheme despite knowing it could be unlawful, 'Sickening, callous and brazen': Sydney man dies in hail of bullets in front of 12yo son, Evelyn worked three jobs when she was in her 20s to build up her super. Alex Braes, 18, died of multi-organ failure caused by sepsis. Alex's father managed to bundle his six-foot-three son into the family's car and drive for a fourth time to the emergency department. The inquest is investigating the treatment the teenager received before he died from a bacterial infection known as Group A Streptococcus (GAS). Mr Braes told the inquest that even once Alex became gravely ill, there was no ambulance available to take him to Broken Hill Hospital, no hospitals willing to admit him in Adelaide and no pilot available to fly him to Sydney. Ms Murphy also told the inquest that there was about a 10-minutewait in the emergency department from the time Alex came to the triage window to when he was looked at by her, as she was busy triaging another patient. Alex Braes, 18, died on 22 September 2017 from multi-organ failure due to sepsis from a Group A streptococcus infection. Alex Murdaugh's family long dominated the legal scene in his small South Carolina county but for the past six weeks, Murdaugh has been on . "He was our first child, our ray of sunshine," he said. "I've worked in 13 different locum hospitals since I've retired and I've never seen anything like Broken Hill in my entire career," he said. Mr Braes told the inquest that even once Alex became gravely ill, there was no ambulance available to take him to Broken Hill Hospital, no hospitals willing to admit him in Adelaide and no pilot available to fly him to Sydney. The 18-year-old died about 1am on 22 September soon after landing in Sydney after a prolonged effort to evacuate him from Broken Hill. "Unfortunately it's a very serious omission that somebody who's been repeatedly in the emergency department hasn't been gone over with a fine-tooth comb," he said. A traumatised doctor has broken down in tears at an inquest, reflecting on how a relatively well teenager was joking with his father the night before his sudden death. Now she believes she's being penalised, Australia loses first wicket on day two but still on top in Indore, ADF aircraft, personnel to assist evacuation of hundreds from flooded NT remote communities, Rajwinder Singh expected to be charged with murder of Cairns woman Toyah Cordingley tonight, police say, Watch Australia's economic challenges unfold in five graphs, 'Weight of the dead on my shoulders': Academic breaks down at gay hate deaths inquiry, The death of Alex Braes still haunts doctors who didn't even know him, 'To lose a son is one of the most traumatic losses in life,' Alex Braes' father tells inquest, Resourcing, hospital business rule highlighted in Broken Hill hearings for Alex Braes inquest, Whistleblower clinicians want ombudsman probe into outback hospital, Postcode health gap: 'This is third-world stuff', Outside her tent, next to a popular city walking track, homeless Tasha is past caring what people think. Dr Hooper, who resigned from his position as a senior visiting medical officer at Broken Hill Hospital two months ago, told the inquest yesterday that Mr Braes' death was a "profound event" in his life. He suffered multi-organ failure due to sepsis . Alex arrived at Broken Hill Hospital's emergency department. Far Western Local Health District, through a spokesperson, acknowledged the need to learn from Braes' death and said it would consider the coroner's findings. Ms Sullivan then asked whether the rule was dropped as a direct result of Alex passing away. But their boy suddenly deteriorated sharply. "She must have hoped beyond hope that he would survive.". Alex's ultrasound showed a possible torn tendon and again Alex was sent home and told to rest, ice and elevate his leg and to come back in two weeks if the pain hadn't stopped. On the first day, the Broken Hill hearings heard that Alex mighthave died from an infection, invasive Grade A Streptococcus, possibly from the ingrown toenail or a cut. Health Hazard, reported by Louise Milligan, goes to air on Monday 9th September at 8.30pm. Alex died in the early hours of September 22, 2017, at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, after being transferred from his local hospital. Mr Braes, 18, died at Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital on September 22, 2017 after he was flown from Broken Hill. Like that day, she said the nurses were still often very busy and under an awful lot of pressure. A traumatised doctor has broken down in tears at an inquest, reflecting on how a relatively well teenager was joking with his father the night before his sudden death. The group of jurors who will decide Alex Murdaugh's fate visited on Wednesday morning the sprawling Islandton, South Carolina, property where the defendant's wife and son were found fatally shot . Registered nurse Kristy Kelly, who was the team leader in the hospital's emergency department on the morning of September 21, 2017, told the inquest she was bound by that rule. Doctors at the hospital initially suspected that Braes' pain was caused by a ruptured tendon even though the teen's father mentioned he did not play sports, a report by the Sydney Morning Herald said. Doctors, who failed to check the vital signs of a teen who died from sepsis, are not responsible for the tragedy, according to a coroner who says they were prevented from doing so under a hospital "business rule". Braes was in "excruciating pain" and was described by one doctor as "the sickest patient the hospital had ever seen" by the time he visited the hospital for the third time, according to the outlet. In a statement, the FarWest Local Health District said it expressedits deepest sympathies to the family of Mr Braes and acknowledgedthe heartache caused by his death. An inquest into his death by the NSW Coroners Court is investigating the treatment the teenager received before he died from a bacterial infection known as Group A Streptococcus (GAS). A shortage of resources was one factor contributing to Mr Braes' death, Ms Kelly said. My first thought was I havent finished obs for him, I havent done anything for him, have I missed something? she told the inquest. NSW coroner Elizabeth Ryan also outlined major delays in transferring Alex Braes from Broken Hill to the Sydney hospital where he died. A coroner has blasted a NSW hospital for attempting to avoid an investigation into a teenager's death from sepsis after he was sent home from its emergency department, finding efforts to deny the significance of the tragedy inexcusable and deeply distressing to his family. 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