Mr Braes, 18, died at Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital on September 22, 2017 after he was flown from Broken Hill. An infectious diseases specialist has told an inquest he was considering amputation to save the life of a gravely ill teenager he was treating at a rural hospital, but that the only option was to fly him elsewhere. 95 Hits - Ajith May 31, 2022, 7:26 PM. The inquest is investigating the treatment the teenager received before he died from a bacterial infection known as Group A Streptococcus (GAS). About 21 hours after he first presented to the emergency department, and with 12 hours left to live, the treatment of the 18-year-old was handed over to the chief medical officer of the Royal Flying DoctorService (RFDS). But questions are expected to continue about the handling of Alex Braes' case. Alex was now in toxic shock from a deadly, flesh-eating disease known as necrotising fasciitis. Representation. It will include an autopsy report, police report, the victim number of the series, personal information of the victim, and much, much more to make the Coroner's Report . They sat there. Max McLean was the after-hours nurse manager at Broken Hill. This would have left the state's Far West region without a pilot or plane, according to the retrieval specialist. AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time which is 10 hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time), abc.net.au/news/alex-braes-infected-toenail-inquest-ends/100091576, Get breaking news alerts directly to your phone with our app, China leaving US behind on development of critical technologies, report finds, Former minister takes 'absolute responsibility' for Robodebt, admits defending scheme despite knowing it could be unlawful, 'Sickening, callous and brazen': Sydney man dies in hail of bullets in front of 12yo son, Evelyn worked three jobs when she was in her 20s to build up her super. This service may include material from Agence France-Presse (AFP), APTN, Reuters, AAP, CNN and the BBC World Service which is copyright and cannot be reproduced. Broken Hill teenagerAlex Braes, who died of an infected toenail. Labor set a superannuation trap and Dutton immediatelytook the bait, Here's what the super tax changes might mean for you, NT Labor candidate confirms involvement in fatal car crash that led to conviction of driving without due care, Freya is one of 15,000 Australians who must find a new life-saving medication or pay a much higher price, Man who murdered Jay Brogden convicted of contempt of court, Live: Australia loses first wicket on day two but still on top in Indore. "Unfortunately it's a very serious omission that somebody who's been repeatedly in the emergency department hasn't been gone over with a fine-tooth comb," he said. Dr Hooper, who resigned from his position as a senior visiting medical officer at Broken Hill Hospital two months ago, told the inquest yesterday that Mr Braes' death was a "profound event" in his life. A coroner found serious and unacceptable deficiency in a teen's treatment at Broken Hill hospital. Ryan recommended the communication between the two states be escalated to the NSW secretary of health if cross-border transfer arrangements are not in place within a year. The inquest also heard the Broken Hill hospital is prevented from transferring patients to Adelaide, despite the SA capital being closer than Sydney. Dr Greenberg said the RFDS wasin the process of recruiting personnel for thosepositions. In an interview with Four Corners, Mr Hazzard said he was "not sure" the hospital broke the law, but Alex's death was a circumstance that, "as a father, I couldn't have imagined happening". "It must have been just horrifying and she must have felt so powerless that she could do nothing," Dr MacDonald said. A centralised medevac dispatch system has since been introduced and Broken Hill now has formalised agreements to evacuate patients to Royal Adelaide hospital and The Womens and Childrens hospital, Adelaide. A shortage of resources was one factor contributing to Mr Braes' death, Ms Kelly said. Alex Braes, of Broken Hill, died in the early hours of Sept. 22, 2017, upon arriving at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney, 7News.com.au reported. During the flight Alex continued to decline and, as his mother watched, the paramedics struggled to keep him stable, having to phone doctors for advice. Dr Hooper, who resigned from his position as a senior visiting medical officer at Broken Hill Hospital two months ago, told the inquest yesterday that Mr Braes' death was a "profound event" in his life. Braes was stranded for hours awaiting medical evacuation as no hospitals in Adelaide were willing to receive him and no pilots were available to fly him to Sydney. Alex Braes, 18, died at Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred hospital nearly 46 hours after limping into Broken Hill Base hospital at 3am on 20 September 2017. . The NSW deputy state coroner criticized Broken Hill Hospital's shortcomings in its treatment of Braes, including its failure to perform vital signs observations at the emergency department. 'An unthinkable tragedy': How did this train crash happen? Crucially, no-one did vital-signs observations such as check Alex's pulse, blood pressure, or temperature and they didn't take any blood for testing. Mr Braes was conscious and speaking to staff and was "compensating for the sepsis until he couldn't". Australian Institute of Health and Welfare figures released in July show the further Australians live from capital cities, the higher the rate of potentially avoidable deaths. You often need to be in two places at once, she told Braes inquest. "The only evidence that we have is that Alex had Streptococcus pyogenes grown in his bloodstream and he had septic shock," he said. The second day of hearings heard from DrDavid Hooper, who reviewed Alex during his third presentation to the local hospital on September 20, 2017. Browse for your location and find more local ABC News and information. The Coroner's Report is a fictional crime scene report of the victims of various horror films. The death of a healthy 18-year-old man who first attended a hospital with moderate knee pain is almost incomprehensible, she said. He went into cardiac arrest. Several changes had occurred to the patient triage process at Broken Hill base hospitals emergency department since the September 2017 death of Alex Braes, the registered nurse Kristy Kelly told the NSW coroners court on Wednesday. Alex Braes, 18, died at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in . The family had to wait several hours for an aircraft to be dispatched from Sydney to collect Alex. An inquest into his death by the NSW Coroners Court is investigating the treatment the teenager received before he died from a bacterial infection known as Group A Streptococcus (GAS). After his ultrasound, he expected a doctor to review his results but the emergency department was so busy, no-one could see him. Alex's mother was left standing outside near the airport tarmac for hours as Alex, still back at the hospital, fought for his life. In lieu of an autopsy, a panel of experts determined he had an unusual presentation of a fast-acting, highly lethal infection, the NSW Coroners Court has been told. Alex Braes (Credit: ABC "Four Corners," family photograph) The death has traumatised Braes' family and hospital staff alike. Alex Braes presented to Broken Hill Hospital four times over a more than 30 hour period in September 2017 (Noah Schultz-Byard) The second day of hearings heard from Dr David Hooper, who reviewed Alex during his third presentation to the local hospital on September 20, 2017. Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning. Broken Hill staff had missed something, but still, no-one did proper observations of Alex. It was a call made far more difficult due to a lack of available pilots at the RFDS base in Broken Hill that day. She said it was likely that Mr Braes' temperature was measured that morning but not his pulse rate,rate of breathing or blood pressure. For legal cases involving intentional or accidental death and for insurance claims, The Records Company retrieves coroner's reports and autopsy reports. It took 25 minutes for a wheelchair to be brought out so Alex could be taken from the car into the hospital. Ms Murphy also told the inquest that there was about a 10-minutewait in the emergency department from the time Alex came to the triage window to when he was looked at by her, as she was busy triaging another patient. Dr Greenberg told the inquest thathe first saw Mr Braesabout2:00pm on September 21, 2017, and from that moment on "I was the team leader". Bol says B sample clears him of doping positive. The nurse did not provide the pillow but left her post to go out into the waiting room to check on Alex. The hospital at the time had a policy running contrary to a NSW Health mandate that allowed staff to send patients home without taking a full set of vital signs. Alex Braes died at Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital after going to another hospital four times. Broken Hill teenager Alex Braes, who died of an infected toenail. There was no bed available in Adelaide and a pilot could not take him to Sydney without exceeding his maximum allowable working hours. Get the best investigative journalism, delivered to your inbox. Braes was in "excruciating pain" and was described by one doctor as "the sickest patient the hospital had ever seen" by the time he visited the hospital for the third time, according to the outlet. "Furthermore, Alex was not transferred to the closest hospital suitable forhis care, which was South Australia's Royal Adelaide Hospital," Ms Ryan said. "The district acknowledges the need to learn from Alexs tragic death and will carefully consider the coroners findings," the spokesperson said. "Twelvehours passed before hisemergency flight landed at Sydney's Royal Price Alfred Hospital," Ms Ryan said. It's just such a tragedy," he said. From February 2022, the Broken Hill RFDS base has funding available for a second plane, along with another locally based pilot and nurse. This was due to a business rule, which discouraged staff from taking vitals during the triage stage in order to improve efficiency. A nurse in her first month at the hospital was assigned to take a full set of his vitals but was called away to prepare another patients antibiotics before she could finish. ", ABC Broken Hillwill deliver a wrap of the week's news, stories and photos every Friday. The defense called forensic experts to dispute gunshot evidence and showed autopsy photos during the murder trial of disbarred South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh, who is accused of fatally . "He was our first child, our ray of sunshine," he said. The decision not to transfer the teenager to a better-equipped, major hospital sooner was also under the microscope. Alex Braes, 18, died of multi-organ failure caused by sepsis. As his pain began to worsen, he was taken to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with a fractured ankle. Alex Braes, 18, died at Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital about 46 hours after limping into Broken Hill Base Hospital at 3am on September 20, 2017. 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