Latest news with #RoyalDarwinHospital
The Guardian
2 days ago
- The Guardian
Woman speared in head airlifted to hospital as NT police search for alleged attacker
A woman with a spear embedded in her head has been airlifted to hospital from a remote Northern Territory community, with police searching for her alleged attacker. On Sunday police received a report alleging that an 18-year-old woman had been stabbed in the head by a male known to her at Angurugu on the west coast of Groote Eylandt, an island in the Gulf of Carpentaria. 'Police and local clinic staff attended and located the victim conscious, with the spear still embedded,' police said in a statement. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email The woman was airlifted to Royal Darwin hospital in a serious but stable condition. Police have appealed to the public for information on the domestic violence incident, with the alleged offender still not located.
Perth Now
2 days ago
- Perth Now
Man hunt underway after woman speared in the head
A woman with a spear embedded in her head has been airlifted to hospital from a remote territory community, with police searching for her alleged attacker. Around midday on Sunday police received a report an 18-year-old woman had been stabbed in the head by a male known to her at Angurugu on the west coast of Groote Eylandt. "Police and local clinic staff attended and located the victim conscious, with the spear still embedded," police said in a statement. The woman was airlifted to Royal Darwin Hospital by a CareFlight aircraft in a serious but stable condition. Police have appealed to the public for information on the domestic violence incident, with the alleged offender still not located. In November 2015 two men were killed and another was seriously injured in a spear fight sparked by a family feud at Angurugu, leading to several men being charged with violence offences. Police at the time confiscated many spears and other weapons held in the community. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) Lifeline 13 11 14 Men's Referral Service 1300 766 491
ABC News
2 days ago
- ABC News
NT woman speared in head in alleged domestic violence attack in remote community
An 18-year-old woman has been speared in the head in an alleged domestic violence incident in a remote Northern Territory community. Emergency services received a report about midday Sunday that the young woman had been speared in the head by a man known to her in Angurugu, a community on Groote Eylandt in the Gulf of Carpentaria. NT police said officers and local clinic staff found the victim conscious with the spear still in her head. "The victim has since been conveyed to Royal Darwin Hospital via Care Flight in a serious but stable condition," a police spokesperson said. Police said they were still looking for the alleged offender, and that investigations were continuing. Police urged anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers or 131 444.
ABC News
09-07-2025
- Health
- ABC News
Code yellow emergency called at Royal Darwin Hospital after pressure from AMA, unions
A code yellow has been called at Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH) for the first time in almost a year following a "unified" demand for the emergency response by health unions and the Northern Territory's peak body for doctors. NT Health released a statement on Tuesday afternoon saying a code yellow had been declared at RDH and its Palmerston campus, Palmerston Regional Hospital. The statement said both hospitals were experiencing "capacity challenges due to an increase in the number of patients requiring ongoing acute care". "A range of measures have been implemented to ease pressure and improve patient flow and discharges," it said. The code yellow is the first since the Country Liberal Party (CLP) government was elected in August 2024. In the four financial years before the CLP's election win, during Labor's time in power, 41 code yellows were called at RDH. Shortly after the last NT election, the CLP removed Marco Briceno as NT Health chief executive, replacing him with Chris Hosking. Both Mr Hosking and Health Minister Steve Edgington were extensively questioned in NT budget estimates last month about the lack of code yellows at RDH since the CLP took power. During budget estimates, Mr Hosking said pressures at RDH were constant, with patients regularly sharing single cubicles with other patients. However, he said staff had been managing the movement of patients better, and therefore the threshold for a code yellow at that stage had not been met. "Getting the patient moving through those patient flows, into a ward, where their care team can provide the clinical care they need, is absolutely what we need to be doing here," he said. Speaking on ABC Radio Darwin on Wednesday, Australian Medical Association (AMA) NT president John Zorbas said his organisation, as well as unions representing doctors and nurses, had made a "unified call and appeal for a code yellow". "We had an influx of both members and non-members — so these are doctors and nurses on the ground in the territory — telling us that this has just reached a point where there's absolutely no pressure-relief valves left," he said. "We knew this a week ago when our members were coming to us, telling us that the hospital was dangerously full. The NT branch secretary of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, Cath Hatcher, said on Tuesday there were "39 patients in the emergency department in RDH waiting on a bed to become available". "There [were] only two vacant beds within the whole hospital for two of those 39 patients," she told ABC Radio Darwin. RDH's serviceability is restricted largely due to more than 40 beds being permanently taken up by patients unable to access residential aged care facilities. On Wednesday, Mr Hosking said a code yellow "proposal" was put to him on Tuesday afternoon, and he "signed that off". "Things have certainly been very busy over the last week or so," he told ABC Radio Darwin. "The actual numbers of presentations we're seeing are not much different to what we've had in the past, but the patients who are presenting are more unwell, they're sicker and they're requiring a higher acuity level of care, which generally means longer stays in hospital and more attention from our clinicians. "A code yellow is part of a defined escalation protocol; there's a number of preconditions or metrics that need to be met and those had [been met]." Mr Hosking said until Tuesday afternoon, the "state of patient flow" in RDH hadn't met "those predefined conditions for declaring a code yellow". "But the moment that it did, that was acted on immediately and signed and the public notification issued," he said. "I understand that's perhaps not the view out there, but certainly we have acted swiftly on this." Mr Hosking said he had not been pressured into calling the code yellow by the AMA and unions. "It's not a case of being forced to do something," he said. "It's a matter of when's the right time to do it, when have those preconditions been met and they have. "I know there's been a lot of talk about this over the last little while, and I've long been quite clear in the view that if the conditions for a code yellow are met, then we will call one and we'll act on it."
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Mom Sues Hospital After 7-Month-Old Daughter Who Had a Heart Condition Allegedly Died Following a 9-Hour Wait
A mom in Australia is suing a hospital after her infant allegedly died following a nine-hour wait Melissa Nowland's 7-month-old daughter Lexie Mae Nowland died in March 2022 The infant is believed to have died of sepsis meningitisA mom is suing a hospital, alleging negligence after her infant allegedly died following a nine-hour wait. Melissa Nowland is taking legal action against the Northern Territory government and Royal Darwin Hospital following the March 2022 death of her daughter Lexie Mae Nowland, according to a writ obtained by PEOPLE. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation was the first to report the news. Lexie, who had multiple heart surgeries at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne in the past, was transferred to the hospital in Northern Territory for inpatient management of her congenital heart condition in January 2022, per the document. After a four-day stay, the child was discharged, but she was then readmitted in March to have her feeding tube transitioned. During that time, Lexie was also treated for vomiting, fever and agitation by the hospital's emergency department, according to the writ. Lexie had a review scheduled for the following morning after she was discharged for that visit, but when Melissa called the hospital with concern about her daughter's health that night, she claimed she was advised to just arrive for Lexie's review early the next morning, per the document. The following day, however, the writ alleged that Lexi "did not undergo clinical review by a pediatric consultant until" hours later, and the infant suffered a cardiac arrest during that time. Lexie was resuscitated, but she then suffered another cardiac arrest hours later. Lexi was eventually pronounced dead that night. According to Australian crowdfunding website MyCause, Lexie died of sepsis meningitis. Melissa is now suing the government on behalf of herself, the baby's father and her two sisters, alleging that the hospital failed to "properly assess, treat and manage" Lexie's condition and provide aid for "suspected sepsis, dehydration/fluid and electrolyte disturbance." The treatment that was given, the mother further alleged, "fell below a reasonable standard of care." In a statement to PEOPLE, a Northern Territory Health spokesperson said, "As this matter is part of legal proceedings, NT Health is unable to provide comment." The writ claims that "the defendant's negligence caused or materially contributed to the deceased's death." "By reason of the defendant's negligence, the plaintiff has suffered nervous shock and has and will continue to suffer injury, loss and damage, including psychiatric injury," the document continues. Melissa also alleged that the hospital "failed to appreciate" her daughter was "at risk of acute deterioration," failed to advise her to visit the emergency department ahead of her death and failed "to [recognize] the parental concern in respect of [her] condition." She is suing for damages for psychiatric injury, compensation and burial costs. Read the original article on People
