A farmer from South Australia’s mid-north is facing the prospect of spending his final days away from his Crystal Brook home because his regional hospital can’t provide him with adequate care.
Chris Thomas, who uses a wheelchair and is experiencing declining health, had been receiving life-saving dialysis treatment three times a week in Port Pirie.
However, according to daughter Alex Thomas, the option is no longer available.
“I’m being told that he needs to make the decision to turn the dialysis machine off and he passes or move to Adelaide,” she said.
“Your postcode should not be a determining factor in the standard of care that you have access to,” she added.
Following a cardiac arrest in May, Mr Thomas was transferred to the Lyell McEwin Hospital. But his daughter claims that the Port Pirie dialysis unit lacks the capacity to meet her father’s needs.
“I’m hearing stories about the dialysis room being too small, them not having enough access to equipment, and not having the staff to be able to facilitate that,” she said.
The state government says there is a dialysis unit in Port Pirie but that it’s not equipped to deal with Mr Thomas’ complex needs.
It’s now begun a review into his case
“We will continue to look at every opportunity that we have to provide people with better care closer to home, but obviously we are guided by what the decisions of doctors are,” Health Minister Chris Picton said.
The opposition has criticised the government’s handling of the situation.
“We are calling on the government to do more by investing in more renal dialysis chairs in SA,” shadow regional health spokesperson Penny Pratt said.
SA Health has denied claims that Mr Thomas was told to move or discontinue treatment.