GRIEVING: Pam Oxford and Renee Wyatt with the death certificate for Sharon Wyatt showing an overdose at Orange hospital contributed to her death. Photo: OLIVIA SARGENT
THE grieving mother and daughter of a woman who died at Orange hospital after she was administered a fatal dose of morphine say they are bitterly disappointed at delays in the investigation and the lack of support they have received from the hospital since the traumatic incident.
Renee Wyatt’s mother Sharon Wyatt went into respiratory distress at Orange hospital on September 1 and when she died the woman’s family was told it was due to an overdose of morphine.
“I’m disgusted - there’s been nothing, no contact, not even a phone call,” said 17-year-old Renee.
The deceased woman’s mother Pam Oxford called the hospital last week in the hope the family could have some resolution to the circumstances surrounding her daughter’s death while she was being palliatively treated for a brain tumour.
“I was told the doctor doing the investigation was overseas and that was it,” Mrs Oxford said.
“I miss her every day and I just feel I can’t call again to be fobbed off - its too upsetting,” she said.
Renee said the family has been offered no counselling or support during their grieving process.
“There’s been no offer of counselling - nothing.
“I feel we are just being stuffed around,” Renee said.
“The only time we have heard from the hospital was when they phoned Nan and I to tell us the paper (Central Western Daily) was asking questions about what had happened,” Renee said.
After being contacted by the Central Western Daily (CWD) yesterday director of clinical governance for Western NSW Local Health District Di Wykes said the hospital is currently completing the root cause analysis investigation.
This is a comprehensive investigation examining the physical, human and organisation causes which may have contributed to Sharon Wyatt’s death.
“The health district will be discussing the findings of this review with the family,” Ms Wykes said.
On September 10 general manager of Orange Health Service Catherine Nowlan told the CWD the root cause analysis investigation was expected to take about four weeks and in the interim staff involved on the ward on the day Sharon Wyatt died were being offered support and remained at work.
Ms Wyatt’s mother and daughter say they can’t understand why no autopsy was performed following the incident at Orange hospital at 10.50am on September 1 and no coronial inquiry.
“When the doctor told us my daughter had been given an overdose I told him that meant we would have to wait to bury my daughter because of what had happened, but we were told that wasn’t the case,” said Mrs Oxford.
Renee said she can’t get out of her mind, her mother’s dying moments.
“She was moaning and gasping for breath but we were told there was nothing they could do, she was dying and I knew they couldn’t reverse it,” she said.
Ms Wyatt died at Orange hospital while her daughter was studying for her Higher School Certificate which she has just completed.
Ms Wyatt’s death certificate signed at Orange hospital shows the cause of death as: respiratory depression secondary to opioid overdose and a metastatic brain melanoma of three months’ duration.
