Family calls for inquest into father’s death after hospital discharge

ABC NEWS (Australia)

A Geelong family is calling for a coronial inquest after 44-year-old Brian Dean died of sepsis, just 24-hours after being discharged from hospital. Brian's family wants to know whether his death was preventable and how similar deaths might be avoided.

Transcript

00:00The Dean family home is bursting with reminders of Brian.

00:08He was cheeky, fun, loyal, sturdy, trustworthy. He was everything.

00:20Sandra Dean and her two young boys are still picking up the pieces after the shock death of the beloved husband and father.

00:27Brian was admitted to Geelong Hospital with the flu in 2023.

00:32He was discharged and sent home after staying overnight.

00:36But 12 hours later, he was back in hospital.

00:39And in another 12 hours, he was dead.

00:42Our world has been obliterated in every way.

00:46I've known Brian since I was 16 years old.

00:49So I lost my best friend.

00:54I lost my salt mate.

00:57My bed is empty.

01:02And I miss him.

01:05Brian's cause of death is listed as sepsis.

01:08But the family wants to know why he wasn't given antibiotics when he first went to hospital.

01:13Who is discharged from hospital and think they'll be dead 24 hours later?

01:19We thought he was sick, obviously.

01:23But we thought he was going to be fine because he had been discharged.

01:27I'm absolutely calling for a coronial inquest.

01:30I think Brian deserves that.

01:32I think Brian's children deserve the answers that it might bring.

01:36The family is also preparing to launch legal action against Barwon Health for medical negligence.

01:42We've asked the coroner to hold an inquest.

01:44We've made submissions to the coroner in support of an inquest.

01:48So we've obtained strong expert evidence that says that Brian should have received antibiotics

01:52when he went to Geelong Hospital.

01:54And that if he'd received antibiotics, he would have survived.

01:56Barwon Health expressed its condolences to the Dean family, saying they were committed

02:01to providing the highest quality care to the community.

02:04An inquest into Brian's death would help give the family some closure on whether it was

02:09preventable, but could also result in recommendations to improve hospital pathways and ensure deaths

02:15like his do not occur again.

02:17For Sandra and their two young boys, it could also mean some good might come from something

02:22so bad.

02:23Brian, if anything, was extremely helpful.

02:26And it's true to him that something should come out of this.

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