Minister for Health Rachel Stephen-Smith has tabled the government’s response to the inquest into the death of Peter Hanisch. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
The ACT Government has apologised for the deficiencies in the health care of retired Canberra teacher Peter Hanisch, whose death a coroner partially attributed to a misread CT scan at Calvary Public Hospital.
It also announced it has accepted the recommendation made in the coroner’s inquest into the 69-year-old’s death held earlier this year.
Coroner Ken Archer found Mr Hanisch died in 2021 of aortic dissection. This is a relatively rare, but often fatal, condition that occurs due to a tear in the inner wall of the aorta – the major artery that runs from the heart to the rest of the body.
But a radiologist did not identify the condition on a CT scan and clinicians pursued other causes of his symptoms, including a possible reaction to a recent COVID-19 vaccination.
Coroner Archer found that if there had been timely treatment of the aortic dissection, there would have been very reasonable prospects of saving Mr Hanisch’s life.
“Had the dissection been identified at the time of his admission to Calvary, then statistically, Peter stood a good chance of surviving for a period after any remedial surgery was undertaken,” he said.
He was unable to find why the error in reading the CT scan occurred, and said there was no evidence of a lack of clinical competence.
Minister for Health Rachel Stephen-Smith tabled the government’s response to Coroner Archer’s report in the ACT Legislative Assembly on Tuesday (23 September) and apologised for the identified deficiencies in Mr Hanisch’s care.
In the inquest, Mr Archer recommended that Canberra Health Services (CHS) develop and publish guidance on peer review systems and procedures for imaging services provided within CHS and by private providers on behalf of CHS.
Ms Stephen-Smith said the government accepted this recommendation, and CHS had begun drafting a Medical Imaging Peer Review Procedure.
This will establish a standardised peer review process for medical imaging reports to ensure diagnostic accuracy, maintain quality standards and promote continuous professional development within the radiology department.
The procedure will apply to all CHS radiologists, radiology registrars and imaging reports generated within the department, including diagnostic radiology reports, interventional radiology procedures and nuclear medicine studies.
Ms Stephen-Smith also said CHS will continue collaboration and engagement with contractors QScan and Everlight for quality assurance of diagnostic imaging reports at what is now the North Canberra Hospital.
“I want to again acknowledge the grief that Peter Hanisch’s family has experienced,” she said.
“Patients and their families should expect the very best health care from the ACT’s public health system, and that will always be the focus of my commitment to improve healthcare in the ACT.
“A lack of formal quality assurance in place at the time of Peter’s presentation let him and his family down. I again acknowledge and apologise for the identified deficiencies in Peter’s care.”
It's time. Time to accept Albo and his ineffectual government is long past its use-by date. Time to… View