South Australian farmer Chris Thomas faces heartbreaking choice in Lyell McEwin Hospital ‘ultimatum’
The devastated daughter of an Australian farmer is pleading with health authorities not to abandon her dad, just because he lives outside the city limits.
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The devastated daughter of an Australian farmer is urging health authorities not to abandon her dad, just because he lives outside the city limits.
Alex Thomas says her 68-year-old father Chris Thomas, who has lived two hours from the South Australian capital in Crystal Brook all his life, has been told he needs to “either move permanently to Adelaide to access dialysis or cease treatment and pass away”.
“Your postcode should not determine your standard of care,” she said.
“We are in the middle of another bloody drought and the messaging to the regions is that they don’t matter … Dad only lives two hours out of Adelaide, so what chance does anyone have further north?
“Surely all Australians should have access to lifesaving treatment and the right to remain in their community, particularly in their eleventh hour and during a time of such extreme vulnerability.”
In May this year, Mr Thomas, who suffers from a complex range of health issues including diabetes, kidney failure and mobility issues, had two major cardiac arrests while undergoing rehabilitation following the amputation of a leg.
He has been receiving treatment in the Lyell McEwin Hospital since but wants to get released back to his home region.
Before the surgery he had been receiving regular dialysis at nearby Port Pirie.
However, because he can no longer move himself independently from his wheelchair to access the dialysis equipment, he cannot be treated at the regional centre.
Ms Thomas, the eldest of three children, said the family was advised Port Pirie lacked the resources and equipment to help transfer the grandfather of four into a dialysis chair.
Ms Thomas, 38, who is raising two young children in the Adelaide Hills and juggling her work as an advocate for rural health and safety, said the family was given the new “ultimatum” last week.
“He has been in hospital for months now, working towards this transfer … I just hate that he is devoid of that hope (to get home),” she said.
Ms Thomas said her dad had access to NDIS funding as well as “a very capable, caring group of support workers” in his local community and other options ought to be considered.
“Why can’t my dad access dialysis in Port Augusta, Clare or even Whyalla? What about home dialysis, or using his existing NDIS support to help facilitate each transfer?,” she said.
“He’s been through enough … with the little opportunity I have, I owe it to Dad – and all regional people – to speak up.”
Northern Adelaide Local Health Network CEO Karen Puvogel disputed that Mr Thomas had been advised to withdraw from medical care.
She said the Thomas family had been contacted on Monday “to offer reassurance and reaffirm our commitment to supporting them through this challenging time.”
“His condition remains clinically complex … we continue to examine every possible option for his care and future which is an evolving discussion based on his medical condition,” she said.
She added satellite dialysis units, such as Port Pirie, as well as home dialysis services were suitable only for “lower complexity and lower-risk patients”.
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Originally published as South Australian farmer Chris Thomas faces heartbreaking choice in Lyell McEwin Hospital ‘ultimatum’
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