Coroner slams North West Regional Hospital over fatal overdose of mesothelioma patient

A man died after being given 10 times the prescribed amount of a painkiller, with a coroner saying the hospital displayed “a shocking lack of attention to basic principles”.

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A MAN with mesothelioma died at the North West Regional Hospital after being accidentally overdosed with 10 times the prescribed amount of a painkilling drug.

In his findings handed down on Friday, Coroner Simon Cooper said immediate steps needed to be taken by the Burnie hospital “to ensure an accident of this type cannot happen again”.

The 71-year-old man was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2019, with the condition too extensive for surgery to be an option.

Mr Cooper said the man was receiving palliative care at his Ulverstone home when on the afternoon of January 3 last year, his wife took him to hospital for help as his condition had worsened.

He died the following day, with a medical certificate of death issued showing his cause of death was metastatic mesothelioma.

A patient in the North West Regional Hospital was given 10 times the amount of hydromorphone, leading to his death in January last year. Picture: AAP//Simon Sturzaker

A review of the certificate was conducted the following week that identified an problem, and the Coroner’s Court was notified.

The coronial investigation revealed the man was prescribed 2mg of hydromorphone, but was instead dosed with 20mg.

“While I am quite satisfied that the administration of 10 times the appropriate amount of hydromorphone was not deliberate, it bespeaks a shocking lack of attention to basic principles,” Mr Cooper said.

Mr Cooper also said “on no reasonable view of the circumstances” was it appropriate to issue a medical certificate, and the man’s death should have instead been immediately reported to the coroner.

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