Pharmacy Daily | AHPRA to act on Indigenous deaths

THE Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) has vowed to take action against health practitioners who fail to deliver adequate care to patients in custody.

AHPRA issued the pledge after the State Administrative Tribunal of Western Australia ruled that Dr Vafa Naderi behaved in a way that constituted professional misconduct when treating Yamatji woman, Julieka Dhu, while she was in police custody in relation to unpaid fines, in Aug 2014.

Following a coronial inquest into Dhu's death and an independent investigation by AHPRA into the medical treatment she received, the Medical Board of Australia referred Naderi to the Tribunal in Jun 2019.

Dhu was taken to an emergency department where Naderi was working on 02 Aug 2014, complaining of pain in the right lower rib region and was discharged with a recorded diagnosis of "behaviour issues", before returning the following day.

During triage on 03 Aug 2014, Dhu was found to have a rapid pulse, was dehydrated and was "warm and agitated", and was allocated an Australia Triage Scale (ATS) score of four, meaning she should have been seen within 60 minutes.

However, she was not assessed by Naderi until two hours later.

Naderi performed an ultrasound, which ruled out a collapsed lung, bleeding in her chest and any abdominal pathology.

In his notes following Dhu's second admission, Naderi described her as a "difficult patient to assess" and recorded "withdrawal from drugs" and "behavioural issues", before prescribing benzodiazepine medication and analgesia, and releasing her back to police custody.

Dhu was taken back to the hospital the following day and was unconscious, pulseless and not breathing.

The inquest found Dhu's death was caused by staphylococcal septicaemia and pneumonia with osteomyelitis complicating a previous rib fracture.

Naderi was found to have failed to meet the standards of care expected of someone with his level of training and experience, and was fined $30,000, reprimanded and ordered to complete a reflective practice report.

"We will continue, unreservedly, to pursue matters such as these to tribunal to ensure that when someone sees a registered health practitioner, they can trust that they will receive safe, professional care, in all circumstances," AHPRA said.