A Hunter Valley woman has told an inquest her Jehovah's Witness mother was acting on what the church wanted her to do by refusing a blood transfusion that could have saved her life.
Heather Winchester, 75, died after complications during hysterectomy surgery in September 2019.
Ms Winchester lost more than a litre of blood after the elective surgery at Maitland Hospital, prompting an urgent transfer to Newcastle's John Hunter Hospital.
The 75-year-old needed a blood transfusion, but refused on religious grounds.
Her daughter Elizabeth MacIntyre gave evidence at the Lidcombe Coroners Court today.
Ms MacIntyre told the inquest she helped her mother fill out her Maitland Hospital admission forms.
Counsel assisting Eve Elbourne then asked if she recalled her mother's gynaecologist discussing the risks of not having a blood transfusion if there were complications.
Ms MacIntyre replied: "No, not specifically no. There was general discussion, I ticked the box to say she refused blood products."
She said she only briefly discussed the risks with her mother outside her medical appointments.
"She was quite stubborn, but she felt this [refusing blood] was what the church was telling her to do and she wanted to do what the church wanted her to do," Ms MacIntyre said.
"She felt if she did the right thing she would get to see her son, my younger brother who was 10 when he died of leukaemia."
Low risk
Ms McIntyre said she believed a hysterectomy was a low-risk surgery.
"A hysterectomy was something I knew women had every day and didn't think it would be a high risk operation; my impression was it was a straightforward surgery," she said.
The inquest heard Ms Winchester's injury to the ureter had been stitched up while she was in surgery and "there was a problem".
"The kidney specialists were saying urine was backing up and she'd lose her right kidney if she survived," she said.
The deputy state coroner was told, as the bleeding continued, Ms Winchester underwent a third operation.
"During meetings with staff and in discussions they were constantly talking about my mother's decision not to accept blood," Ms MacIntyre said.
"Definitely with the John Hunter Hospital doctors they were obviously trying to save her life.
"Staff had gone to the health minister and were going to go to the court, but I think it became too late."
No Autopsy
Deputy state coroner David O'Neil was told there was no autopsy.
"You understood there would be an autopsy and you were keen to have an autopsy, you wanted to find out how she ended up with a bleed in the first place," counsel assisting Eve Elbourne asked.
"Yes" Ms MacIntyre replied.
"You wanted to discover what started the chain of the events with the bleed?" Ms Elbourne asked.
"Yes," she said.
Ms MacIntyre told the inquest after getting the death certificate she was told there would be no autopsy.
She said she was "disappointed and was not aware a death certificate could be challenged".
Ms MacIntyre said she learnt a challenge could happen a few weeks later when a police officer rang her.
"Then it was too late to have an autopsy," she said.
Ms MacIntyre told the inquest her mother embraced the Jehovah's Witness faith after being visited by "doorknockers".
The inquest heard no-one else in the family had embraced that faith.
The inquest continues.
