Coroner finds Royal Hobart Hospital ED failures connected to man’s self-harm death
“I want to live.” Hobart Coroner’s Court hears tragic words from man who died after an episode of self-harm while waiting for help at the Royal Hobart Hospital.
Tasmania
Don't miss out on the headlines from Tasmania. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Hundreds of mental health patients are being ramped outside the Royal Hobart Hospital for hours
- A doctor has told the Hobart Coroners Court of the burden on mental health services in Tasmania
- An inquest has been told of the shocking number of patients stuck in the emergency department for more than a day
JOSEPH Aaron Lattimer tried to reach out before he cut his life short in an emergency department toilet cubicle, taking the very action he’d sought help to prevent.
The 37-year-old, who was found unconscious while awaiting emergency psychiatric treatment at the Royal Hobart Hospital, was failed by the system that he’d reached out to for help.
On Friday, Coroner Olivia McTaggart handed down her findings into the Mornington resident’s tragic death, finding a connection between his passing and a series of key failings at the hospital.
Her findings followed an inquest in October 2019 that revealed the scope of the Royal Hobart Hospital’s acute staffing shortage and its ambulance ramping crisis.
Ms McTaggart said in July 2016, Mr Lattimer had taken a “most difficult” step of calling an ambulance, seeking treatment for suicidal ideation “in order to save his own life”.
Upon arrival, he was triaged into an emergency category, requiring treatment within 30 minutes.
But due to critical staff and bedding shortages, Mr Lattimer sat in the waiting room for 42 minutes, “alone and without a support person”, before the suicide attempt that ultimately led to his death 11 days later.
After Ms McTaggart handed down her findings, Mr Lattimer’s mother Julie read out some words her son had written before the tragic episode, detailing the dreams he had for his life.
“I want my daughter...to be proud of me. I want to live,” he wrote.
Mr Lattimer, who suffered post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression, said he dreamt of being able to be well enough to again go bushwalking, surf with his sister and sail with his dad.
He also wrote of wanting to work with reptiles, and hoped to one day open his own business.
Ms McTaggart said Mr Lattimer was not placed in a safe environment after he was triaged or given a support person while he waited.
“I find that there was a connection between these failures and Mr Lattimer’s death,” she said.
Ms McTaggart said she didn’t criticise any of the staff working in the emergency department at the time, saying they performed their roles diligently and efficiently.
“The issues affecting Mr Lattimer’s situation were caused by insufficient staff to attend to him and insufficient, appropriate space to accommodate him,” she said.
At the inquest, paramedic Andrew Sculthorpe said since Mr Lattimer’s death, ambulance workers were now required to stay with mental health patients until they were admitted - with the “ramping” process sometimes taking hours before they could be processed.
On Friday, Ms McTaggart recommended the hospital’s emergency department be redesigned to include a dedicated mental health assessment unit, “in accordance with contemporary standards”.
She also recommended the state government take steps to recruit psychiatric emergency nurses along with other health care workers who could either triage, assess and treat mental health patients or provide support while they waited for help.
A spokesperson said the government noted Ms McTaggart’s recommendations, saying more was currently being spent on mental health services in Tasmania “than ever before”, with an additional $16 million in the 2020-21 state budget.
They said the hospital currently had more than five full-time equivalent psychiatric emergency nurses and that a six-bed mental health short stay unit had been established, with staff recruitment currently underway.
‘Ute tax’ fears reignited over new car pollution cap
The Coalition has raised concerns new car pollution caps could drive up the cost of family and tradie-friendly SUVs and utes ahead of the Prime Minister’s crunch meetings with Asian leaders.
The factors behind steep decline in Tassie apprentice numbers
In the first three months of this year, the number of apprentices in training in Tasmania fell sharply compared to the same three-month period in 2023.