An Iraqi refugee took her own life while an inpatient at Bankstown-Lidcombe hospital, the day news broke that two newborn babies at the same hospital had been given the wrong gas, one fatally.
In a revelation that will increase pressure on the hospital, and the state government’s management of its healthcare system, the 46-year-old woman – who has not been publicly identified – died while in the care of the Banks House mental health inpatient unit.
Police were called to the hospital at 1.20pm Monday. A postmortem examination will determine the woman’s official cause of death but it is not being treated as suspicious. Police will prepare a report for a coronial investigation.
The woman is understood to have been resettled in Australia as a refugee earlier this year via the government’s humanitarian resettlement program, run in conjunction with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. She had family in Australia.
Bankstown-Lidcombe hospital is conducting an investigation into the circumstances of the woman’s death.
But the hospital is already under intense pressure over its management and standards after one newborn baby was killed, and another left with suspected severe brain damage, when they were accidentally given nitrous oxide gas – laughing gas – instead of oxygen.
The wrong gas had been installed in lines in an operating theatre by BOC Limited in 2015. An interim report into the babies’ death and injury, from an independent obstetrician currently investigating, is expected within a week.
After the Iraqi woman’s death, the New South Wales mental health minister, Pru Goward, said: “my heart goes out to the family and I am extremely sorry for their loss.”
Goward said she had spoken to the NSW health secretary and the chief executive of the south-western Sydney local health district about her death. “We will look at the results of the investigation and the coroner’s findings to see what more can be done to prevent such a tragic incident in the future,” she said.
A hospital spokesperson offered “deep and sincere” condolences to the family of the deceased woman.
“Staff are providing the family with ongoing support and assistance at this sad and difficult time.”
The NSW opposition health spokesman, Walt Secord, said the government had a responsibility to assist and support people who had fled conflict areas such as Iraq and Syria.
“While details are emerging, this is a tragic situation,” he said. “The Baird government has a duty of care to protect and support the most vulnerable – especially when they are accessing health and hospital facilities in NSW.”
- Readers in Australia seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467. In the UK, the Samaritans are on 08457 90 90 90. In the US contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 1-800-273-TALK
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