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Sunday, September 26, 2010

Australia : Teen's death linked to swine flu

An article from ABC News :

" A teenager who died after being sent home from a hospital in WA's Wheatbelt is believed to have been suffering from swine flu.

Andrew Allan,16, had a fever and difficulty breathing when his mother took him to Northam Hospital, east of Perth, almost a fortnight ago.

A nurse gave him some paracetamol and sent him home.

He was not assessed by a doctor.

The teenager was dead the next morning.

His father, James Allan, says he received a phone call from the WA coroner's office this week.

An initial report found Andrew Allan was suffering from swine flu and a bacterial infection when he died.

"He certainly would have had a better chance of survival in a hospital I think with trained people observing him than just being put to bed at home," Mr Allan said.

An investigation has begun at Northam Hospital.

A spokesman for the WA Health Department says the nurse who sent the teenager home has not worked there since the incident."

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