Launceston General Hospital criticised by coroner for ignoring dying patient's end of life care plan

Kylie Anne Breen was rushed to hospital in 2017 after she attempted to take her own life.

The LGH had a copy of the 40-year-old's Advance Care Directive, which stated she did not wish to be revived or have her life prolonged if she could not speak, hear, move, or if she should have to be fed through a tube.

But the document was not initially accessed by hospital staff.

Doctors instead attempted to resuscitate Ms Breen, and she was placed on a ventilator.

A coroner's report published this week noted that even when the end of life document was seen, the treating doctor was "reluctant to cease medical intervention".

It also noted her partner had performed CPR after he had found Ms Breen unconscious at home and called an ambulance.

While Ms Breen ultimately died within hours of arriving at the hospital, her distressed mother was forced to watch on as doctors went against her daughter's wishes.

In the years leading up to her death, Ms Breen's condition had deteriorated and the disease had left her incapacitated.

She could not work, she could not drive, and she was housebound.

She created the end of life plan a year before she died, and had told her partner a number of times she wanted to end her life "at an appropriate time due to her poor quality of life".

In a handwritten note found with Ms Breen on the day of her death, she had stated she was not committing suicide.

"It is euthanasia that I have chosen," she wrote.

"Considering the powers that be haven't yet legalised it, I took matters into my own hands. I hope people can understand why I have made such a choice. I had enough of the pain and indignities of MS many, many years ago. But sometimes you just have to say enough is enough."

While Coroner Olivia McTaggart acknowledged the treating doctor was acting lawfully and in Ms Breen's "best interests", she recommended "all hospitals in this state take any necessary steps to ensure that a patient's ACD is readily accessible within the patient's medical records".

"The issue is a difficult one, as there may be serious legal consequences for doctors who fail to properly assess a condition, regardless of the existence of an ACD," Ms McTaggart wrote.

"Fortunately, Ms Breen's wishes as per the ACD were established within a relatively short time and she passed away three hours after her arrival in hospital."