By Elia Petzierides
Take one severe allergic reaction to a wasp sting, two overly-protective dogs, a longer than average ambulance response time and a shot of adrenaline and you have the narrative of Mr Tony Bugeja’s final minutes. The Coroner investigating the 50-year-old’s death provided some interesting advice for those wanting to improve ambulance resourcing and also made a unique and surprising recommendation for the ambulance service which the media latched onto. Continue reading
Patient identification standards could be on the horizon for Australian ambulance services.
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By Elia Petzierides
“Lots of little things done well” is chef Marco Pierre White’s recipe for perfection, and the same definition could equally apply to the healthcare setting. But as we discover in this GraveLesson, perfection isn’t always achieved in healthcare. Soon after 74-year-old Mrs Marcia Loveday presented to hospital, lots of little things (and some not so little) went wrong and she was administered a penicillin based antibiotic despite her known and recorded allergy to penicillin. She suffered a cardiac arrest moments later. How did this happen and what can be done to prevent this from happening again?
By Elia Petzierides
Calling all hipsters, fashionistas and wearers of ultra skinny jeans: this is a serious health warning.
By Elia Petzierides
When an 8-month-old female presented with signs of bowel obstruction after ingesting what was thought to be a small piece of candy she was eventually taken to the operating theatre for surgery. The cause of the obstruction highlighted a public health concern and a warning for parents and health practitioners alike. Continue reading
How many coroners does it take to change a lightbulb? One to change the lightbulb and another to pronounce the old lightbulb dead from natural causes.
Unfortunately it seems it also takes more than one coroner to change a systemic issue with the monitoring of medication prescriptions within Victoria, Australia.
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