There are growing calls for changes to the laws governing how deaths are certified in all Tasmanian hospitals after revelations a senior staff member incorrectly certified dozens of deaths at the Launceston General Hospital.
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00:00I often wonder when his birthday's come around what he would look like, whether he'd be a
00:13dad, whether he'd be a husband or a partner.
00:19It's been eight years since Nicole Harrison's nephew died.
00:23He was to be in hospital for seven to ten days and he was to come home to us.
00:29He came home but he came home in a box.
00:32Zane Jamison had leukaemia and after a bone marrow transplant he developed a severe skin
00:38condition and was admitted to the Launceston General Hospital in 2016.
00:43Ms Harrison claims during his stay her nephew wasn't being turned in bed, causing pressure
00:48sores that rotted his muscle to the bone.
00:51She also says maggots inhabited his open wounds.
00:55I was told it's okay Nicky, maggots are used in medical science.
01:03Yes doctor they are, when they're bred in a sterile environment, not from a rubbish bin.
01:12Nobody deserves that.
01:17The Launceston hospital's been under the microscope recently after a senior staff member was found
01:23to have repeatedly acted outside the scope of the law when certifying dozens of death
01:27certificates.
01:28This sparked a review, with an independent panel established to investigate any death
01:33certificates that may have been incorrectly documented at the Launceston hospital.
01:37As a result, a total of 29 deaths have been referred to the coroner.
01:43After Zane died, Ms Harrison was told there would be an autopsy, but this didn't happen
01:47because his death certificate had already been signed.
01:51It stated Zane died of sepsis due to his condition, it didn't mention pressure sores.
01:56I highly believe what killed him was the septicemia from the pressure sores.
02:04Ms Harrison sent details of Zane's case to the independent panel, and told them she
02:09had photos of Zane's pressure sores.
02:11She says the panel didn't look at them or investigate further.
02:15This left Zane's family confused about the scope of the panel.
02:18If mistakes aren't looked at, and corrected, they just keep on going on.
02:27The Medical Error Action Group think the panel should have examined hospital deaths statewide,
02:33not just at the LGH.
02:35They've heard from other families who have concerns about their loved one's hospital
02:39death certification.
02:41And particularly three hospitals, Royal Hobart, Launceston General and North West Burnie.
02:48Tasmania's health department says its death reporting processes align with relevant legislation.
02:55It says while the focus of the review was on the LGH, recommendations are being implemented
03:00statewide.
03:01But there are now calls for legislative changes to how death certification works.
03:06There should be two doctors signing off, and one will be the treating doctor, but the other
03:11one is an independent doctor, and that will have some checks and balances.
03:16For Ms Harrison, she's still fighting for answers over her nephew's treatment.
03:20I can't scatter his ashes and let him be free yet, because there's no peace.