Surgeon partner of former premier to testify over his patient’s death

High-profile Brisbane surgeon Reza Adib, the partner of former Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, will be called to testify before an inquest into the death of one of his patients.

Rosemarie Campbell, 62, died at home in February 2022 after gastric bypass surgery performed by Adib at Brisbane’s Wesley Hospital.

Deputy State Coroner Stephanie Gallagher is now examining the circumstances of Campbell’s death, including her adequacy of care and treatment, whether she was properly informed of the risks before proceeding, and the decisions around her discharge.

Dr Reza Adib and his partner, former Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. Credit: Dan Peled

There is no suggestion Adib acted negligently during the procedure or afterwards.

She underwent the surgery on February 24, 2022, and remained as an impatient in the hospital until February 26, when she was discharged into her partner’s care.

When Campbell woke the following day, she had difficulty moving and was being assisted by her partner. The court heard he left their bedroom to go downstairs to make her a coffee when he heard a loud thud upstairs.

“He returned to the bedroom to find Ms Campbell face-down on the bedroom floor and unresponsive,” Counsel assisting Geoffrey Diehm KC said on Wednesday.

Campbell’s partner performed CPR, and paramedics tried to revive her, but she died within an hour.

A pre-inquest conference heard Campbell’s autopsy determined she had died from sepsis, due to, or as a consequence of, acute bacterial peritonitis and pneumonia.

Diehm said a Wesley Hospital review of Campbell’s death noted she had vomited 350 millilitres in 3½ hours on the morning of her discharge, while only having taken 400 millilitres orally.

“It was also noted that the Queensland early warning tool score was documented as being ‘zero’, both at 8am and 12pm on the day of discharge, when in the view of the Wesley Hospital the correct score should have been ‘two’ on both occasions,” he said.

A score of two would have required notification of the senior team leader, the court heard.

Diehm told the court one of the nurses raised concerns with her team leader, though she only referred to the vomiting. He said it appeared the nurse did not alert the team leader to what ought to have been a score of two on the early warning tool, in respect of Campbell’s blood pressure and oxygen saturation.

The court heard another nurse ultimately called Adib.

“Whilst Dr Adib was aware of the issue of vomiting, the extent of it and lack of information regarding vital signs does not appear on the evidence to date to have been conveyed to him,” Diehm said.

Paramedics were unable to revive Rosemarie Campbell after she collapsed at home following an operation at the Wesley Hospital.Credit: QAS

“Dr Adib has claimed that had he known of those observations, which he had otherwise been told were normal, that he would not have agreed to the patient’s discharge.

“There will though, nonetheless, be an examination of what it was that Dr Adib had been told and what he may have otherwise done with that information before he would accept the discharge of the patient.”

Diehm said the inquest would also explore with Adib the justification for offering the surgery.

Campbell had been granted early access to her superannuation to pay for the procedure.

Diehm said the surgeon’s evidence focused upon an intent to provide relief from severe reflux, as well as allowing Campbell to achieve weight-loss goals that were described by Adib as being critical for her health.

The inquest will also examine records of the Wesley Hospital and Adib, to establish what risks Campbell was warned of before agreeing to have the surgery.

The court heard Campbell was eager to recover in the comfort of her Gold Coast home, and worried she would be unable to return during the 2022 floods.

The inquest is scheduled to begin in June.

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