Hospital staff shortages left dying man without pain relief for six hours
A 91-year-old man died without pain relief for six hours, blamed on staff shortages at a NSW private hospital.
Lyall Rissler spent five weeks at Hunter Valley Private Hospital in NSW getting palliative care. On his final day, August 1, 2024, his daughter Bronwyn asked for a palliative pump.
It delivers steady pain medication. A doctor said yes that evening.
But Bronwyn was told doctors had left and she would wait until morning. Lyall got only two doses of morphine over 14 hours.
He had no pain medication at all for more than six hours before he died. The Health Care Complaints Commission looked at Bronwyn's complaint.
It found poor care caused by "systemic issues within the hospital", not individual mistakes. One nurse said the nurse-to-patient ratio that night was one to eleven.
She called it "unsafe" and "unrealistic and dangerous". She left hospital nursing later due to stress and unsafe staffing.
- 91 years old
- Patient age
- More than 6 hours
- Hours without pain relief
- 2 doses
- Morphine doses in 14 hours
- 1 to 11
- Nurse-to-patient ratio
Why it mattersThe case raises serious questions about how private hospitals manage palliative care and whether staffing levels are adequate to meet patients' end-of-life needs.
AustraliaFamilies relying on private hospitals for end-of-life care in Australia may face similar systemic gaps in pain management and nursing support.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 1 h ago
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