Hobart hospital’s response post-surgery was ’below an acceptable standard’, Tasmanian coroner finds

A woman with a “varied and complicated” medical history who died from post-surgery complications in 2022 received hospital care “below an acceptable standard”, a coroner has found.

Hobart Private Hospital emergency entrance. Health. Picture: MATT THOMPSON

A woman with a “varied and complicated” medical history who died from post-surgery complications in 2022 received hospital care “below an acceptable standard”, a Tasmanian coroner has found.

Coroner Simon Cooper handed down his findings into the death of Gennette Anne Briffa, 73, on Friday who passed away from complications following the reversal of a gastric bypass at Hobart Private Hospital.

In 2021, Mrs Briffa spent many months in and out of Hobart Private and the Royal Hobart Hospital emergency department after the removal of a gastric band in June.

Her doctor, who removed the gastric band, continued seeing Mrs Briffa and noted her slow recovery.

Mrs Briffa was admitted to the Hobart Private Hospital for the final time on January 21, 2022, where her notes indicated she was “malnourished post gastric bypass”.

Coroner Cooper noted that Mrs Briffa underwent surgery on January 24 for a ‘laparoscopic reversal of the gastric bypass’ and post-operation continued to report further issues such as abdominal pain.

On January 25, Hobart private staff transferred Mrs Briffa to the critical care unit after a decrease in vital signs which continued until January 29.

The morning of January 29, Mrs Briffa’s condition continued to deteriorate, prompting emergency scans and the attendance of a Royal Hobart Hospital intensive care doctor, who transferred Mrs Briffa to the Royal.

Rearview shot of hospital staff wheeling a patient in a gurney down a corridor

Despite resuscitation attempts and other interventions by hospital staff, Mrs Briffa passed away on January 30 at 9am, noted on her transfer papers as being in acute liver and kidney failure.

Coroner Cooper agreed with the findings of medical advisor to the Coronial Division, Dr Anthony J Bell, who said Mrs Briffa had likely passed away from sepsis and that an intensive care doctor should have been involved in Mrs Briffa’s care earlier.

“Dr Bell expressed the opinion that once Mrs Briffa showed signs of sepsis, an intensivist should have been involved,” Mr Cooper said.

“He considered that those signs were clear in the aftermath of the surgery and pinpointed the time to involve an intensivist as at the time of the first MET call in the early hours of 25 January 2022.”

Coroner Cooper went on to say that while the management of Mrs Briffa’s medical conditions may have been difficult over an extended time, there was a lack of accurate response to her complications.

“The response to Mrs Briffa’s post-surgical complications on and from the early hours of 25 January 2022 was, in my assessment, below an acceptable standard,” he said. “There was an apparent failure to identify with a degree of certainty that she had developed sepsis and the involvement of an intensivist was too late to alter the ultimate outcome for Mrs Briffa.”

Coroner Cooper did not make any further recommendations or formal comments.

A Hobart Private Hospital spokesman shared its sympathies with Mrs Briffa’s family and shared they had co-operated with the Coronial division in its investigation into Mrs Briffa’s death.

“The clinicians and staff at Hobart Private work hard every day to give every patient the highest quality care and treatment,” he said.

“All instances of adverse patient outcomes are investigated by the hospital and any learnings are incorporated into hospital protocols and procedures.”

Originally published as Hobart hospital’s response post-surgery was ’below an acceptable standard’, Tasmanian coroner finds