Fatality in emergency care leads to WorkSafe charges

A Vic public healthcare provider is facing charges after a patient died at the Royal Melbourne Hospital in June 2024.

The Melbourne-based service is confronted with one charge under section 23(1) of the OHS Act for not ensuring that individuals other than employees were protected from health and safety hazards, as well as one charge under section 26(1) of the OHS Act for failing to guarantee that a workplace under its management and control was safe and free from health risks.

The patient was hospitalised for an urgent mental health evaluation when they ended their own life.

The case is scheduled for a filing hearing at a Melbourne court early next month.

Originally published here.