The family of a Pambula Beach woman who died one year ago today from uterine cancer within weeks of being misdiagnosed twice has slammed the integrity of an investigation by the state’s health watchdog.
They have requested a formal review and have more questions following NSW Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC) investigations into the death of Simone Crerar, one year ago today, involving two local health facilities and a Tura Beach GP.
They said the 56-year-old was sent by her GP to Southeast Radiology for a scan of her pelvic area, but staff instead performed an ultrasound of her abdomen.
This followed an earlier misdiagnosis at South East Regional Hospital in Bega.
Simone’s family said while the HCCC Commission investigation into the hospital is still open, they’ve determined no action is required against South East Radiology or the GP.
“They’ve not asked that question! No one questioned it! They’ve admitted there were limitations to that and there should have been a red flag for both the radiological interpretation and the GP,” Simone’s brother Scott said.
“We want to know the peer review findings of the ultrasound considered whether the examination performed was sufficient to exclude serious pathology. They haven’t asked any of these questions,” he said.
“This actually leads us to think that they’re not totally impartial and objective.
“The impression you get here is the HCCC is reluctant to take action against these entities. They don’t seem to have any authority to do anything. They don’t seem to be really impartial even though they claim to have a lot of power. It’s not evident here that they’re wielding any of their authority.
“To us we don’t think they had adequate expertise to really grasp the issues. They haven’t asked the right questions. They haven’t understood the depth of the issues, issues around the quality of the systems that appear to be lacking in the diagnostic services within the region.”
We have reached out to the HCCC for a response.
The family said they’ve been advised the HCCC investigation looking into the care provided to Simone at South East Regional Hospital remains open.
