The West Australian Country Health Service says it is committed to upgrading a mental health unit in a Kimberley hospital after a man's death three years ago.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains the name of a person who has died.
The refurbishment of Broome Regional Hospital's Mabu Liyan unit was recommended by Deputy State Coroner Sarah Linton in a report earlier this year regarding the death of an Aboriginal man.
Russell David Brockliss was involuntarily admitted to the high-dependency unit in June 2019 after a severe mental health episode and health professionals were unable to properly examine him due to his "highly agitated state".
He was taken to the psychiatric unit and was observed by a staff member every 15 minutes during the night through a "small window".
The report found that when the last check took place at 8:15am the attending nurse "believed Mr Brockliss was breathing and had recently moved position".
"Although, she conceded at the inquest that she may have been mistaken," the report said.
Just 15 minutes later two nurses entered the unit to wake Mr Brockliss and found he had likely died an hour and a half earlier.
Coroner Linton said while the evidence indicated the visual observations done on Mr Brockliss were likely inadequate, it was "unclear whether it would have made any difference to the final outcome" due to his resistance to treatment and a physical examination.
She recommended the WA Country Health Service give "urgent consideration" to funding the redevelopment of the Mabu Liyan unit to allow staff to safely carry out regular visual checks on patients.
Health service 'committed' to upgrades
The WA Country Health Service agreed with the Coroner, saying "lessons must be learnt from Mr Brockliss's death".
A spokesperson for the service said improvements had since been made to Mabu Liyan including better safety mechanisms for staff and patients.
"We are committed to refurbishing the Mabu Liyan High Dependency Unit and are working with the Department of Health in progressing a funding submission for government consideration," the spokesperson said.
The Kimberley is home to one of the highest rates of untreated mental illness in the country, with significant state funding already going to address gaps in the remote healthcare system.
