Dying man placed next to corpse at Northern Hospital

Published on: August 28, 2017

Dying man ‘moved to room containing corpse’ at Melbourne’s Northern Hospital
The partner of the man said she heard hospital staff discuss ‘body bag shortage’
She also claimed the room her partner was placed in was littered with rubbish
Filed an official complaint, claiming staff are unprofessional and underqualified

By Max Margan For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 16:47 BST, 28 August 2017 | Updated: 16:47 BST, 28 August 2017

The grieving partner of a man who died of cancer has slammed a Melbourne hospital after he was allegedly placed next a dead patient in the final hours of his life.

The 50-year-old woman said her dying partner, 50, was moved to a room which contained a corpse at Northern Hospital in Epping, as staff could be heard discussing a ‘body bag shortage,’ The Herald Sun reported.

The woman, who did not wish to be named, claimed the room her partner was placed in was littered with rubbish, and also accused nurses and doctors of inconsistently administrating pain-relief.

She has filed an official complaint, claiming staff at the hospital are unprofessional and insufficiently qualified.

The grieving partner of a man who died of cancer has slammed Melbourne's Northern Hospital after he was allegedly placed next a dead patient in the final hours of his life

The grieving partner of a man who died of cancer has slammed Melbourne’s Northern Hospital after he was allegedly placed next a dead patient in the final hours of his life

‘I don’t want other families to have to go through what we went through,’ the woman told the paper.

‘(My partner) had an untrained nurse with him and they’re saying to us it’s a ”staffing issue”. That shouldn’t be happening.

‘They need to have a stand-alone palliative care unit, they need to move it away directly from the hospital.’

Ryan Brown, Northern Health director of public affairs, told the paper the hospital was taking the complaint seriously.

The 50-year-old woman said her dying partner, 50, was moved to a room which contained a corpse, as staff could be heard discussing a 'body bag shortage' (stock image)

The 50-year-old woman said her dying partner, 50, was moved to a room which contained a corpse, as staff could be heard discussing a ‘body bag shortage’ (stock image)