Adjudication No. 1440 (adjudicated October 2009) [2009] APC 27

Adjudication No. 1440 (adjudicated October 2009)

The Australian Press Council has dismissed a complaint by Dr Antony Nocera against The Daily Liberal, Dubbo, and Weekend Liberal over several articles concerning events at the Dubbo Base Hospital published between July 31 and August 7, 2009.

The articles dealt with allegations of racism, discrimination, faulty diagnosis and failure of communication at the hospital in western NSW during two separate medical emergencies. The Greater Western Area Health Service issued apologies to the patients and their families in both instances after investigating the circumstances.

The first case involved an Aboriginal man with known drug and mental health problems who, on consecutive days, was rushed to the hospital by ambulance suffering severe pain and difficulty walking, and was twice examined by a doctor and sent home without treatment. According to the man's sister the doctor said: "There is nothing wrong, you are only at the hospital to get drugs." The patient presented to hospital again by ambulance on the third day, and this time was diagnosed with abscesses pressing on his spine and groin and rushed to Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, where he remained in intensive care for more than a week. An initial review by the Health Service found the Dubbo care "clinically appropriate".

The man's sister alleged he was "treated like a dog" because of his Aboriginality and known history of schizophrenia and drug abuse.

The second case involved a 14-year-old girl who tore off her thumb while tying up a horse at a gymkhana. When she presented at the hospital, a doctor said, according to a family member: "There's not much we can do with this." A call was put through to Royal North Shore hospital and a team of micro surgeons assembled but, due to transport delays, she was not operated on until twelve hours after the accident. As a result, the thumb was not successfully reattached.

Dr Nocera complained to the Council that the Dubbo Liberal's articles were unfair, that they did not respect the privacy of individuals and that gratuitous emphasis was placed on the first man's Aboriginality. He said the treatment the man received was appropriate based on his past medical history, his presenting complaint and clinical findings on examination. "There was no racial bias," he said.

He also attacked the newspaper for naming the patients and, in the case of the Aboriginal man, their medical histories.

In view of the fact that close relatives of the patients (a sister and a father) released the details, the Council dismisses the privacy aspect of the complaint. It also dismisses Dr Nocera's complaint that the comments attributed to the doctors were put in direct quotes without the doctors being interviewed and finds that the newspaper was entitled to report the allegation of racial discrimination.