Tasmania Police declines to investigate whistleblower claims of Launceston deaths cover-up

A whistleblower has been left stunned after Tasmania Police told her it would not criminally investigate her claims a Launceston General Hospital boss routinely falsified death certificates.

Deputy Commissioner of Tasmania Police, Jonathan Higgins. Picture: Chris Kidd

Tasmania Police has told a whistleblower it would not criminally investigate claims a Launceston General Hospital boss routinely falsified the death certificates of deceased patients.

In February this year, during a parliamentary inquiry into ambulance ramping, LGH nurse and midwife Amanda Duncan accused Peter Renshaw – the now-retired and scandal-ridden suspended former LGH executive director of medical services – of falsifying death certificates in cases that should have been referred to a coroner.

Ms Duncan said she had received 11 reports from doctors and nurses disclosing the alleged misconduct.

An independent review into the serious allegations by Adjunct Professor Deb Picone, released on Friday, has now found Dr Renshaw in fact breached the law by signing death certificates for 29 patients he had not treated.

The report has now been forwarded onto Tasmania Police - with the force since stating it would review any “relevant avenues of inquiry”.

Peter Renshaw, the former executive director of medical services at Launceston General Hospital.

Ms Duncan told the Mercury she had informed Tasmania Police of her concerns shortly after the parliamentary inquiry in February, and was told her information would be “considered”.

She said months later, she followed up her query “as I had received no communication” - but was told by Deputy Commissioner Jonathan Higgins that no criminal investigations would take place.

In an email dated April 5 viewed by the Mercury, Deputy Commissioner Higgins told Ms Duncan that the information she provided to the parliamentary committee “has been assessed” and it had been “determined that at this stage there is no new evidence to support criminal investigation”.

Launceston nurse and midwife Amanda Duncan. Picture: Chris Kidd

Deputy Commissioner Higgins said he had provided Ms Duncan’s information to the Department of Health for inclusion into Ms Picone’s review, and “should this information provide further avenues of enquiry I can assure you we will follow these up”.

Ms Duncan wrote back a few days later, stating that the evidence provided by her and fellow nurse Tom Millen was “new” evidence”, and asked for reasons why the matter would not be criminally investigated.

“I asked what ‘old evidence’ police had as I would assume any former allegations of such a shocking nature would have been formally investigated at the time,” she said.

But Ms Duncan told the Mercury she has had no reply.

“People have stopped me in the supermarket and asked why I didn’t report the allegations to police. To clarify - I have.”

A Tasmania Police spokesperson said the force was not able to publicly comment on whether a person was subject to a criminal investigation.

However, they said the final report released on Friday had been referred to Tasmania Police and other relevant agencies.

“Any information identified through the report that provides relevant avenues of inquiry will be reviewed by police,” they said.

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