A doctor who misdiagnosed an Indigenous man as suffering a drug-induced condition before he later died in excruciating pain due to perforated abdominal ulcers should be referred to the health watchdog, a coroner has found. The NSW Coroner’s Court on Tuesday handed down its findings into the death of Ricky “Dougie” Hampson, who died in August 2021 less than 24 hours after being discharged from hospital. The court heard Mr Hampson feared hospitals but was in “10 out of 10” pain on the evening of August 14, 2021, when he sought treatment and care at Dubbo Base Hospital complaining of a “popping” sound in his stomach.
The court heard that at the time, the Kamilaroi-Dunghutti man was suffering from the effects of perforated stomach ulcers, which ultimately killed him. He was not taken for any scans to investigate his abdominal pain and he was diagnosed by emergency medicine physician Dr Sokol Nushaj as suffering from Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS). The condition is characterised by nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain due to long-term marijuana use.
This is despite, the court heard, Mr Hampson not presenting with vomiting or nausea. He had smoked cannabis earlier that day. He was sedated overnight and following 18 hours in hospital, he was discharged.
“There were no further investigations of the ‘popping’ sensation or the cause of the pain such as by giving Dougie an x-ray or a CT scan,” Deputy State Coroner Magistrate Erin Kennedy said in her findings.