The manager of Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu has lodged an official complaint on the singer’s behalf over his medical treatment at a Darwin hospital.
Gurrumul’s manager, Mark Grose, is reportedly considering legal action against the Northern Territory health minister, John Elferink, over comments he made calling their public complaints a “publicity stunt”.
The Yolngu singer was admitted to emergency at the Royal Darwin hospital (RDH) on Easter Sunday with internal bleeding complications relating to liver disease. He had earlier been hospitalised for the same issue in March, but his manager and specialist doctor alleged that this time hospital staff left him without the required treatment for hours longer than laid out in hospital protocols.
A complaint has been made on Gurrumul’s behalf to the Northern Territory’s Health and Community Services Complaints Commission, which Guardian Australia was told has been referred back to the hospital.
The commission would not confirm a complaint for reasons of confidentiality.
Grose said he believed the treatment amounted to either incompetence or racial profiling, a position supported by specialist doctor, Paul Lawton, who pointed to notes on Gurrumul’s medical records that his illness was alcohol-related, which Lawton said was not correct and was an assumption based on Gurrumul’s race.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people face systemic bias in both the NT and national health system, Lawton has said, noting Indigenous people are also less likely to be approved for kidney transplants.
Data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare does show a large (if improving) gap in treatment between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
Last week Elferink defended the staff at RDH and accused Grose of staging a publicity stunt. “The reputation of the Royal Darwin Hospital and their staff needs to be and will be defended,” he told ABC’s the Drum.
He would not respond to the data on national systemic bias.
He again ruled out a full investigation, saying a “cursory investigation into what actually occurred [would] make it abundantly clear that the allegations is complete, utter and fulsome nonsense”.
The NT Labor opposition leader said Elferink had “gone off the deep end”.
“Both the amazing RDH staff and patients should be treated with respect,” Michael Gunner said.
“Everyone has an expectation on care and they should get that. All complaints should be treated fairly and with respect – this is in the best interest of both the hospital and complainant.”
The federal Indigenous affairs minister, Nigel Scullion, has requested a full report.
