Doctor tells inquest of Sachintha Nandula Battagodage he had 95 per cent chance of survival with proper medical care

An expert doctor has told an inquest a man who died after being turned away from the RAH had a 95 per cent chance of surviving with proper care.

A young man turned away from the Royal Adelaide Hospital numerous times after coughing and vomiting blood very likely would have survived if he’d been given proper care, an inquest has heard.

The inquest, investigating the deaths of Sachintha Nandula Battagodage, 23, and Hemant Chadha, 38, has heard both men would have likely lived if their pleas for help weren’t ignored.

Giving evidence on Tuesday, cardiothoracic surgeon Professor Julian Smith said Mr Battagodage’s chance of survival would have been “better than 95 per cent” had he been given medical care

He said a chest X-ray upon his first admission to hospital would have revealed a “clearly visible” concern.

“I am concerned that a young, previously healthy gentleman, is coughing up blood mixed with his sputum,” Prof Smith said.

“He should have been followed up with a chest X-ray.

“Covid created great stress in many facets of medicine and the emergency departments were under extraordinary strain. However, despite that, there is a young patient who is coughing up blood and there is no apparent cause for it.

Sachintha Nandula Battagodage’s death was determined to be likely preventable. Photo: GoFundMe

“The time should have been expended to at least perform a chest X-ray – a simple, non-invasive (and) relatively cheap investigation, and a very useful screening tool for someone with haemoptysis.”

Sachintha Battagodage’s wife Yeleni Perera leaves the Coroners Court. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Morgan Sette

An inquest previously heard Mr Battagodage began coughing up blood on November 19, 2020, and travelled to the Royal Adelaide Hospital emergency department.

He was discharged and sent home without any testing being undertaken, with a doctor advising him to take panadol.

Mr Battagodage returned to the RAH on November 21 after he began vomiting blood and bleeding from his nose, and on this occasion a chest X-ray and blood tests took place.

He was advised that a mass had been detected in his chest but there was “nothing nasty on the scans that he needed to worry about”.

On November 23, he returned to the RAH with his wife Yelani Perera “fearing for his life”, but was turned away without being seen to.

Mr Battagodage left the hospital and presented to a GP who referred him for an urgent CAT scan at Bensons Radiology in Glenelg where he was told he needed urgent medical intervention.

Sachintha Nandula Battagodage (right) with his wife Yelani Perera. Photo: GoFundMe

“You can’t believe how much fear this man would have had at that moment -– and for his wife observing all of this,” Prof Smith said.

“Do not quibble over what this man has experienced – this is a medical emergency. I believe that there was time to intervene.”

Mr Battagodage went to the bathroom of the Bensons Radiology clinic where he was heard to collapse, and despite 40 minutes of resuscitation efforts he was pronounced dead at the scene.

His cause of death at post-mortem was found to be acute haemothorax due to ruptured pseudoaneurysm of the right subclavian artery.

The inquest continues.

Originally published as Doctor tells inquest of Sachintha Nandula Battagodage he had 95 per cent chance of survival with proper medical care