A CORONER has found a Maryborough man received reasonable and appropriate medical care before his death in June 2019, despite anonymous concerns being raised about the case.
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But coroner Audrey Jamieson said the death was reportable to the Coroner's Court, despite the court not initially having been notified.
The man, named in the findings as Mr Wilson, was found dead in his hospital bed at Maryborough and District Hospital on June 4, 2019, at 1.30am.
He had been admitted the previous day for treatment of accumulated abdominal fluid related to liver disease and shortness of breath. He died within a month of an operation to repair an umbilical hernia at the Austin Hospital.
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The 43-year-old's death was not initially reported to the coroner, with the cause attributed to liver failure with cirrhosis and hepatitis on his death certificate.
Coronial Admissions and Enquiries received an anonymous notification of Mr Wilson's death from the Maryborough District Health Service in October 2019, indicating several areas of concern and raising allegations about the provision of medical care and treatment to Mr Wilson.
Among the concerns raised was that Mr Wilson's death certificate did not record a recent surgery or recent drainage facility.
The coroner cited an Australian Broadcasting Corporation report in which Mr Wilson's mother said the family had the impression her son would be treated for the fluid problem, then come home healthy and be okay.
Mrs Wilson said she was not sure why the family had not been contacted by the hospital to say her son's health was deteriorating, so they could attend him.
In her findings Ms Jamieson commented that the medical care and treatment provided by the Maryborough District Health Service and his general practitioner was reasonable and appropriate in the circumstances.
But Ms Jamieson determined the Mr Wilson's death was reportable to the coroner. She said where the reportability of a death was in question it was preferable the medical practitioner contact the Coroner's Court for advice.
Ms Jamieson said the Coroner's Prevention Unit advised that without the benefit of forensic medical examination it was not possible to determine whether Mr Wilson's death was related recent surgical procedure, or only attributable to his chronic condition.
She said there was nothing to suggest Mr Wilson received anything but reasonable and appropriate medical care and treatment.
But Ms Jamieson said it would "clearly have been preferable for all involved" if Mr Wilson had been told by practitioners that he could die within days or hours, giving him time to contact his family.
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