Ricky 'Dougie' Hapson Jr's family addresses the media outside Dubbo court on the first day of the inquest into his death. February 26, 2024
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NewsTranscript
00:00 Here's what we know.
00:03 Our son presented to Dubbo Base Hospital on the 14th of August 2021
00:08 for severe abdominal pain and reported a popping and tearing sensation.
00:12 He was at the hospital for the next 19 hours and discharged on the 15th.
00:18 Only to be found unresponsive the next morning.
00:23 We have questions about what happened during the 19 hours.
00:28 We want to know, was Dougie racially profiled because of his aboriginality?
00:34 We want to know, were his symptoms taken seriously or were they ignored?
00:39 We want to know, did Dougie receive inadequate medical care or treatment?
00:44 We want to know, was Dougie's diagnosis incorrect?
00:48 We want to know, were the medical staff negligent?
00:52 We want to know, were the medical staff racist in the way they treated Dougie?
00:57 We want to know, was Dougie wrongly sedated?
01:01 We want to know, was the care that Dougie received culturally unsafe?
01:06 We want to know, why the family was not notified by the hospital that Dougie had been admitted?
01:12 We want to know, was Dougie's discharge premature?
01:17 Dougie's death was avoidable.
01:22 It should never have happened.
01:25 Dougie would be here with us today if the hospital didn't let him down and had listened to his cries for help.
01:32 The family want to know if Dougie's aboriginality meant that his very serious symptoms were not considered, was our son listened to?
01:42 A lot of blackfellas don't normally get, sorry, a lot of blackfellas don't normally go to hospital because of the track record of this country's health system.
01:51 We have been let down so many times in the past because of racism in the health care system.
01:57 Because we don't receive culturally safe health care, Dougie felt the same way.
02:02 We know Dougie, and due to the lack of trust in the system, we know that he would have only,
02:09 we know he would have only gone to the hospital and given you a serious pain.
02:15 Our son didn't deserve to die that day. He should be here with us today.
02:23 We relive the pain of losing our son every day. It feels like only yesterday. We are devastated.
02:30 It is just like a nightmare that we continue to live through. Our lives will never be the same.
02:37 We have been demanding change within the health care system that really needs to happen so Aboriginal people can feel safe when seeking medical care.
02:45 At the end of these two weeks, we will get recommendations from the coroner.
02:49 We are hoping the coroner will give advice about how the New South Wales Western Health District,
02:55 Hubba Bay Hospital and the medical staff need to change the way they provide services towards Aboriginal people.
03:01 Recommendations should be seriously enforced. There have been so many inquests into Aboriginal deaths in the health system,
03:10 and we are tired of families going through the same thing over and over.
03:15 These recommendations have not been implemented.
03:19 There were recommendations made by the coroner at the inquest of Naomi Williams back in 2019 and missed due in 2014.
03:27 If those recommendations were implemented and enforced, our son would probably be here today.
03:33 Our people are tired of burying our children and family members.
03:37 How many times will we have to keep going through these inquests until our people are treated equally in this country's health system?
03:45 We hope this inquest brings out the truth, and where the racial discrimination played a part in Dougie's treatment, then we receive accountability.
03:54 We also hope we get serious changes in the health system that are enforced and not left in a pile somewhere.
04:02 Too many times our people are mistreated in the health system, and this is a time for change.
04:07 [BLANK_AUDIO]