Tasmania’s palliative care resourcing after Longford Man left to die in a ‘storeroom’ at LGH

The death of a Longford man in a hospital “storeroom” has triggered calls to “review, fix and change” the state’s ailing health system to include a greater focus on palliative care.

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THE death of a Longford man in a hospital “storeroom” has triggered calls to “review, fix and change” the state’s ailing health system to include a greater focus on palliative care.

Peter Dahlvid, 87, died at the Launceston General Hospital earlier this month after he was moved by staff into what the family described as a storeroom.

The family’s claim was refuted by the Tasmanian Health Service which said the room was a “clinical area – complete with a bed and other facilities”.

Mr Dahlvid’s cousin Brian Walker, who along with other family members questioned why another room wasn’t available, said the situation highlighted the need for better palliative care options in Tasmania.

Palliative Care Tasmania chief executive Colleen Johnstone yesterday agreed, saying the organisation had received increasing reports of people dying without dignity in hospital settings.

“In the Launceston General Hospital environment – and what we’re fearing will happen at the Royal Hobart Hospital too – are heart-wrenching stories emerging where dying Tasmanians are put into really small windowless rooms to have some privacy when dying. But that is not adequate or appropriate,” she said.

Yvonne Dahlvid, of Longford, with a photograph of her late husband Peter. Mr Dahlvid died in a storeroom at the LGH due to a lack of palliative care facilities.

“There needs to be good spaces for people who are dying with families because what we’ve seen is complicated grief will arise when family members don’t have a good death experience so we need to resource our palliative care better.”

Ms Johnstone, while pointing to a KPMG Palliative Care Australia report, said demand for end-of-life care was set to double across the next 20-30 years, adding that Tasmanians shouldn’t need to turn to hospitals for palliative care.

“In Tasmania, where our ageing population is rapidly growing, we’re going to see a tsunami of increased demand occurring before we see it happen nationally,” she said.

“One of the reasons people end up in state hospitals is because, other than phone services people can call when the wheels fall off, we don’t have a system that provides after hours palliative care.

Mr Dahlvid lost a long battle with cancer at Launceston General Hospital.

“What happens is people are forced to call ambulances to take loved ones into emergency departments because they can’t get the after hours support needed for dying Tasmanians.

“We’re looking forward to working with government to plan for the future, but certainly, short term measures are needed to put in place to immediately alleviate the health crisis happening across the state, particularly in the North.”

Ms Johnstone said public hospital staff were “doing the best they can in a health system which needs to be reviewed, fixed and changed”.

Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation Tasmanian branch secretary Emily Shepherd said Launceston General Hospital staff were working tirelessly to provide quality care for patients.

“The ANMF is contributing to the LGH master planning process looking at longer and shorter term requirements for the hospital precinct which includes improvements to ward units and inpatient areas that would service patients and staff alike,” she said.

Mr Dahlvid was originally from Sweden.

Mr Dahlvid not long before his passing.

Health Minister Sarah Courtney, who offered condolences to Mr Dahlvid’s family, said palliative care funding had “consistently increased” since the Liberal Government came to office in 2014.

She said recent investments include $800,000 for Palliative Care Clinical Nurse Educators in all three regions across the state, as well as $1m in the State Budget for Palliative Care Tasmania.

“On top of these investments we are also refurbishing and delivering new palliative care spaces in our hospitals to ensure the comfort of patients and their families,” she said.

“We will continue to work with local clinicians, key stakeholders and consumers on the palliative care needs of our community.”

Dying without dignity: ‘He was left to die in a storeroom’

A GRIEVING widow says she has been left “outraged” after her husband died in what the family described as a hospital storeroom.

Peter Dahlvid, 87, originally from Sweden, died at the Launceston General Hospital earlier this month after a long battle with cancer.

He spent the first two days of his hospital admission at Ward 6D in a room with curtains dividing patient beds.

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After taking a bad turn, he was moved to spend his final hours in a smaller room described by the family as a storeroom, where hospital staff were seen coming and going for supplies.

But health authorities yesterday said the patient was moved into a “clinical area, complete with a bed and other facilities”.

His wife Yvonne said she missed the chance to say a final goodbye to her husband after his relocation.

“When he took a bad turn I stayed at the hospital longer than I should’ve and I was asked to leave by a nurse who wasn’t comfortable dressing him with me there,” she said.

Yvonne Dahlvid, of Longford, with a photograph of her late husband Peter. Mr Dahlvid died in a storeroom at the LGH due to a lack of palliative care facilities.

“While I was out I received loads of messages and calls saying get to the hospital.

“When I got to the ward he was in a storeroom. I lost the opportunity to say goodbye to my husband with him being able to understand me.”

Ms Dahlvid, who questioned why a different room wasn’t available, said the family understood the decision to move her husband to a storeroom was for privacy reasons.

“I’m outraged on his behalf,” she said.

“Given his health, he wouldn’t have known where he was, but I’m outraged about the people outside looking in.

“I would’ve assumed there was a family room available. And during that whole night he was in there I was sitting thinking why is my husband, who paid 68c tax to the dollar, in this situation in the public system.”

She said she would remember her late husband of 54 years as a “lovely man who was a great backstop for me”.

“It didn’t matter how much I ranted about issues in the garden, he would deflect that off because nothing fazed him,” she said.

“He was someone who was just constantly here and one who never had a bad word to say about anyone.”

She said she was grateful and satisfied with the care shown for her husband by hospital staff and how they were “able to ease his passing”

Mr Dahlvid’s cousin Brian Walker said his cousin “didn’t die with dignity”.

“He was unwell over an extended period of time but this was just the end of it,” Mr Walker said.

“To go out that way is unacceptable – it’s about dying with dignity.”

His death follows long-running bed block concerns at the LGH which has seen hospital staff call for action to address the issue.

Launceston General Hospital.

A research report released last week found a lack of available space in the ED led to patients being treated in makeshift spaces, many of which did not have call bells, duress alarms or examination equipment and concerns were raised about compromised patient safety.

The study, published this month in the International Emergency Nursing journal found the design of the waiting room and triage area, ramping, staff and patient safety and limitations in mental healthcare as the most problematic issues.

In November 2019 a survey conducted by the Australasian College of Emergency Medicine showed 57 per cent of patients seeking treatment at the LGH were access blocked – making it the worst in the country.

Mr Walker said the circumstances of his cousin’s death could have been avoided if the hospital was adequately resourced.

“If some patients could be accommodated elsewhere in sufficient palliative care then that could take some pressure off the LGH,” he said.

“It’s that bottleneck that’s happening – you get situations like what has happened with the storeroom which has been the catalyst for me to say it’s got to stop.”

A Tasmanian Health Service spokesman on Thursday said it was not appropriate to discuss details of an individual’s care.

“In cases where a patient may suddenly approach an end-of-life situation, there are areas on some wards where a patient may be moved from a multi-patient ward to afford them and their family some privacy in what is obviously a very challenging time, as well as increased access for families,” he said.

“These are clinical areas – complete with a bed and other facilities – near the nurses station specifically located so that nurses are able to liaise closely with the family and provide assistance as required.”