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CHANGES TO THE CORONERS ACT 2003 (QLD) IMPACTS AGED CARE INDUSTRY

On 2 November 2009, amendments to the Coroners Act 2003 (Qld) came into force in Queensland. 

Broadly speaking, the amendments to the Act: -

• Impose a greater duty on health care providers to report deaths; and
• Provide a broader scope of circumstances in which a death must be reported to the coroner.

Duty to report

The Act requires that all health care related deaths be reported to the coroner.

Defining health care under the Act

For the purpose of the Act, a broad definition of health care is provided – ‘health care’ is defined as: -

• A health procedure (which includes dental, medical, surgical, diagnostic or other health related procedure such as provision of medication or anaesthetic); or
• Any care, treatment, advice, service or goods provided for, or purportedly provided for, the benefit of human health.

Health care related deaths

The coroner’s office state that a death will be a health care related death and therefore, a reportable death, if: -

• the health care caused or contributed to the death;

OR

• a failure to provide health care caused or contributed to the death;

AND

• the death was an unexpected outcome of the health care being provided.

The changes will certainly impact upon the Aged Care industry given the breadth of the definitions above and the significant scope under which deaths must now be reported.