On about April 2nd

when both houses of the NSW Parliament are sitting, I intend going down to Sydney with a swag of placards, some flyers and a petition (yes I do know petitions are not worth the paper they are written on but they get publicity). I am hoping to launch my petition with an MP who has been helpful. Also I will be buying advertising space in our local papers and if I can afford to in the Daily telegraph, advertising my action, petition and contact.

My aim is to shame the Government into taking some real investigative action. I am not wanting to drag the kids into this unless they offer as it is a very bad time of the year for us all. Today is the first anniversary of the day Don's lung was first drained in our small local hospital. We were sent home in the pouring rain at about 5.30 in the afternoon... and we thought that was rough after having his lungs compromised. Thank God none of us knows the future.

One or two of you out there may have some editing skills, be better than I at spotting repetition etc. The flyer below will be front and back A4...it will have three small pictures on it...(they are too strong for you lot of good people and not needed that you see them).

Any suggestions in re wording the draft will be apreciated. It will be laid out in dot point form etc. Some of you will have read a similar post as I made this from one of my previous posts...this has been edited as far as I can... but needs more I know.
Draft flyer
Royal North Shore Hospital Shame.

Please tell me why my husband’s death is still unpunished and not prosecuted?

On behalf of my husband of thirty-five years Don Mackay, our two daughters and myself, I would like someone in authority to begin action NOW to stop the Cardio Thoracic Surgeon and team from doing to anyone else what they did to my husband.

I would like to see the Spinal Ward Nurses and Intern who ignored my husband’s worsening condition prosecuted because of their criminal negligence of my husband which along with Cardio Thoracic’s dangerous mistakes led to his first Respiratory Arrest, and inability to come off ventilation.

I would like to see the ICU Specialists and Cardio Thoracic Specialists who withheld from us full disclosure of his irreversible condition which they were aware of and allowed him to be subjected him to a torture which lasted five long weeks, prosecuted.

I would like to see that the filthy practices and deplorable conditions and he endured without choice in ICU are exposed.

This could happen to your loved one or yourself and I have no reason to think it hasn’t since my husband’s criminal mistreatment and killing at the hands of RNSH staff.

1. My husband, Don Mackay had been a Quadriplegic for 25 years. He arrived at RNSH 11/4/07 at 10pm. He was signed up for surgery within the hour by a doctor whose English, we had trouble understanding at a later conference and who now can’t recall what he told my husband about the surgery. Why is that?

2. Don was given dangerous and unnecessary surgery (Pleurodesis) the next morning as I was driving from Port Macquarie. Why was that?

3. He had never seen a Cardiothoracic specialist before surgery. (The surgeon “assumed” he had). The surgeon was unprofessional. Why is that?

4. He had no ECG although he has a moderate Pericardial Effusion (2006 diagnosed) The surgeon again was unprofessional. Why was that?

5. He had neither blood tests nor any pathology. The surgeon again was unprofessional. Why was that?

6. The Surgeon saw no X rays or Scans (they were in Port Macquarie Base Hospital. The surgeon again was unprofessional. Why was that?

7. The review by the Anaesthetist is admitted by RNSH to be “limited”. He was not seen before theatre. The surgeon is responsible to see all procedures have been followed, again was unprofessional. Why was that?

8. The Cardio Thoracic surgeon appears not to have seen Don before Theatre. The surgeon again was unprofessional. Why was that?

9. Ungraded Talc known to be connected to Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (which Don developed) was used. They now no longer use this. It was known it caused ARDS. The surgeon and team again were unprofessional. Why was it used? Was it cheaper?

10. My husband’s right lung was meant to be suctioned till all the fluid was removed at the gentle suction of 3KPA. They admit that a transcription error caused his lung to be vacummed at 10 times that value at 31KPA. This was left like that for almost 24 hours and was not spotted by Cardiothoracic Doctors, and the Spinal Unit’s nurses till 8am the next day. The surgeon and team again were unprofessional. How can this ever have happened?

11. Cardiothoracic were ignorant of Quadriplegic breathing mechanism which makes it harder to breathe while sitting up if there are problems. They ordered him sat up in his wheelchair and he rapidly deteriorated. I begged the Spinal Nurse to get him back to bed but was refused and he suffered three hours of torture trying to breathe against gravity? The surgeon and team again were unprofessional. Why were they so ignorant?

12. Cardiothoracic should have known not to sit up someone with suctioning of the lungs in progress as this can cause the surgery to fail and can lead to ARDS. This happened? The surgeon and team again were unprofessional. Why was this?

13. Spinal nurses and Doctor as well as Cardiothoracic were grossly negligent over the next days and he was treated badly as his condition became dangerous and he began to hallucinate and gasp for breath. How could they do this to him?

14. On the night of the first of five respiratory arrests he called my name for three hours according to his roommate and THEY DID NOTHING. I was 5 mins away and had given them instructions to call me at any time if he needed me or things got worse. How could they do this to him?

The next five weeks in RNSH’s Intensive Care Unit were a five-week horror movie that I can not get out of my head. I try to see him as he was before they tortured him - before they filled him full of filth and sepsis, and fluid and God knows what else. I can’t. I see my lovely sweet man tied and gagged by tubes, , full of fluid and MRSA and all sorts of tubes. I see him with his tongue being forced painfully out and in and out as he reached yet another respiratory arrest and was breathing 50 breaths per minute - he was so frightened and I couldn’t help him. It went on like this for five weeks. I feel like I have been in a war zone. What I have relayed here is just the tip of the iceberg as to what was done to my daughters’ father and my wonderful husband.

Finally he was allowed his wish, which was to go home and die. Even then it depended on conforming to their demand that the home respirator be taken away as soon as he got home. Apparently there was not one other home respirator in RNSH or at Port Macquarie or anywhere else in the Northern Areas’ Health Service. Why was that?

It was not a death – it was a killing, caused by gross negligence, ignorance, stupidity, arrogance, filth and cost cutting. I should not have to be chasing justice on behalf of my husband, daughters and myself.

It should not take so long for those responsible to be prosecuted for killing Don Mackay and those most responsible should not be still practising inside Royal North Shore Hospital without restrictions and observation. It would be better for NSW residents if they were not in the health system at all.