In New South Wales I was performing a dental procedure on my patient and gave them an appropriate dose of general anaesthetic. Unfortunately the patient did not recover after the procedure and subsequently died in the recovery room. I am unsure if this is a reportable death.
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Answer by Neha Sharma, Hillsdale 2036 NSW
- If you are unsure about your legal obligations under the law you should always obtain legal advice specific to your situation.
- In some Australian jurisdictions such as South Australia it is a reportable death if a person dies as a result of or within 24 hours of the administration of an anaesthetic.
- In New South Wales the death is a reportable death if it ‘was not the reasonably expected outcome of a health-related procedure.’
- The NSW legislation is silent about:
- the test for ‘reasonably expected’; and
- a time limit for deaths associated with anaesthetic.
- Therefore when considering whether the death is a reportable death you should typically ask yourself 2 questions:
- did the health related procedure cause the death; and
- if yes, was this an unexpected outcome of the procedure?
- When determining whether death is an unexpected outcome of a health-related procedure you should consider the following things:
- whether death was a significant risk of the procedure but its benefits outweighed the risk;
- whether the health-related procedure performed was consistent with the standard expected in professional practice;
- the patient’s age and health status; and
- causation.
- In New South Wales direct causation does not need to be established (shown).
- If you are in NSW and you accept that the patient was not reasonably expected to die from administration of anaesthetic then the death is reportable.