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Doctor plagued by WA woman’s custody death

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A doctor has told an inquest she has been plagued by the death of an Aboriginal woman in custody and wondered whether she could have done something differently.

Ms Dhu, whose first name is not used for cultural reasons, died in Western Australia two days after being locked up at South Hedland Police Station in August last year, for failing to pay fines totalling $3622 for offences including assaulting police.

Ms Dhu, 22, died during her third visit in as many days to the Hedland Health Campus from staphylococcal septicaemia and pneumonia, following an infection in her fractured ribs that spread to her lungs.

Dr Anne Lang treated Ms Dhu the first time and told a coronial inquest on Thursday that her death later was an “incredible shock” and she had thought about whether she could have done something differently.

“I’ve given it a lot of thought. It’s gone over my mind,” she said.

Dr Lang said Ms Dhu was emotionally volatile, anxious, upset and angry, and she got the impression Ms Dhu did not want to be at the hospital or in police custody.

“She was in pain, she was groaning, she was speaking quite loudly and abruptly,” she said.

“At no stage did I ever think that Ms Dhu was drug-seeking or fictitious.”

Dr Lang said it was difficult to get a history from Ms Dhu because she seemed reluctant to share information.

The doctor said she learned from police that Ms Dhu’s pain “suddenly got worse” when she was told she would be incarcerated.

She said Ms Dhu was not hostile during the physical examination but she found no outward signs of trauma around her ribs.

Dr Lang said she did not think spending more time with Ms Dhu would have led to her picking up on the sepsis.

She admitted her notes were “completely unacceptable” and said she had no idea how sick Ms Dhu was or how rapidly the illness would progress.

“I’ve learned that despite how busy you are and how minor the pathology is I really should do better documentation,” she said.

Senior medical officer Ganesan Sakarapani rejected a suggestion that Ms Dhu would have been treated differently if she was white, saying: “We do not have a culture of institutionalised racism.”

Asked if patients in custody were also treated differently, Dr Sakarapani replied: “Not in my experience, no.”

Dr Sakarapani tried to resuscitate Ms Dhu on her final hospital visit, telling the coroner she looked blue and her eyes were dilated when he saw her.

He said there had been policy changes implemented since Ms Dhu’s death and time would tell how effective they were.

The inquest continues.